+CEPH self-studyCriteria 1: The Public Health Program

1.1 Mission.

a. Mission statement The mission of the School of Community Health Sciences (SCHS) is to: Develop, disseminate, and apply knowledge with an ecological approach to protect and promote the health of populations. This mission is congruent with the missions of the Division of Health Sciences (DHS), and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) where the program is located.

The SCHS is one of four schools in the Division of Health Sciences. The four schools, SHCS, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Social Work are tied together by the need to find solutions for and help people towards improving their health and well-being through education, research, clinical care and public service. The Division of Health Sciences provides an important linkage between the schools and supports the mission of the SCHS.

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) is a constitutionally established, land-grant university. The university served the state of Nevada as its only state-supported institution of higher education for over 75 years. In that historical role, it has emerged as a doctoral-granting university which focuses resources on doing a select number of things well. The mission of the University of Nevada, Reno supports and engages the SCHS by offering high-quality undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in the liberal arts, sciences, and selected professions in agriculture, engineering, health care, education, journalism, and business. UNR creates new knowledge through basic and applied research, scholarship, and artistry, in strategically selected fields relevant to Nevada and the world. The University improves economic and social development by engaging Nevada's citizens, communities, and governments and seeks to reflect the gender, ethnic, cultural, and ability/disability diversity of the citizens of Nevada in its academic and support programs, and in the composition of its faculty, administration, staff, and student body. In particular, the 2015-2021UNR strategic plan addresses the goal of improving the physical and mental health of Nevadans and this translates into support for the development of a full School of Public Health by adding more MPH areas of specialization and implementing a PhD in Public Health. The alignment of missions throughout the university structure provides strong endorsement for the SCHS programs and for public health in general. http://www.unr.edu/Documents/provost/provosts-office/forms/Strategic%20Plan%20Final%20Jan%202015.pdf

UNR strategic plan (goal 3) excerpt:“ Improve mental and physical health and quality of life for Nevada’s diverse and growing population.

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Forge partnerships with public and private hospitals, healthcare institutions, and community agencies to enhance medical and health professional education throughout the State of Nevada.

Expand graduate medical education. Expand community and state partnerships in public health, including county health

departments and districts, state agencies, and public health laboratories to enhance public health practice and education.

Develop special areas of expertise and focused training programs that will enhance Nevada’s economic and social development as well as the health and quality-of-life of Nevada communities and counties.

Provide preventative outreach programs that encourage good health and nutrition.

Goal 3 Metrics2014 2021

Accreditation for a Master and PhD of Public Health

MPH, 2 areas of specialization

5 MPH areas + PhDs in Epidemiology, Social Behavioral Health and Health Management and Policy

b. Guiding values SCHS’s Vision: Foster equitable and healthy communities. We achieve this vision through these values:

Advancing knowledge Embracing diversity Demonstrating integrity Inspiring learning Succeeding through collaboration

Description of values:Advancing Knowledge: We are committed to asking and answering important questions to advance public health through influential research.

Embracing Diversity: We value the backgrounds and experiences of our students, faculty, and staff as partners with diverse communities to reduce disparities and promote equal opportunities to achieve optimal health. Demonstrating Integrity: We strive to be consistent in all endeavors, in demonstrating honesty, fairness, and respect to promote mutual trust and understanding.

Inspiring Learning: We cultivate a dynamic learning environment that includes meaningful conversations and experiential learning to engage and inspire professionals who are committed to advancing community health.

Succeeding through collaboration: We appreciate the importance of partnerships for achieving public health outcomes and endeavor to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new ones.

c. Goal statements

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The goals of the SCHS programs are:

To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers, educators and leaders To develop the knowledge base for public health through research To be recognized for leadership in innovative approaches to public health To engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service To expose students to diversity in multiple venues

d. Measureable objectives and performance indicators

Table 1.1.d. SCHS Goals and ObjectivesGoal 1: “To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers, educators and leaders.” Data SourceObjective 1: Recruitment/Admissions1a. 80% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have an overall undergraduate GPA that exceeds 3.2.

MPH application file

1b. 40% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have verbal and quantitative GRE scores that exceed the 50th percentile.

MPH application file

1c. By 2015, historically underrepresented racial/ethnic populations will comprise 10% of the students accepted to the MPH program.By 2018, 20% of MPH applicant pool will include students representative of target diversity groups.

MPH application file

Objective 2: Education/Training2a. 90% of MPH students will receive grades of B- or higher in the MPH core and required courses ( first time they take the course)

My Nevada

2b. By 2018, 60% of undergraduate CHS majors will have a GPA of 3.0 at graduation. Institutional Analysis

2c.By 2015, 95% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH professional paper.By 2018, 90% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH professional paper in the same semester during which they were enrolled in the Capstone course.

Capstone course

2d. 30% of MPH students participate with faculty in research activities. Digital Measures

2e. By 2015, 75% of MPH students will be involved in leadership roles and/or providing service to the community or university.By 2018, 60% of MPH students will be involved in providing service to the community or university, in addition to coursework, the internship or paid work.

Student Survey

2f. By 2018, 90% of MPH students completing internships will be rated by their preceptors at “good” or above.

Preceptor evaluation

2g. By 2018, 75% of undergraduate students completing their internship will be rated at “good” or above.

Preceptor evaluation

2h. By 2018, 80% of MPH students will rate the quality of their internship as being “good” or above

Student internship evaluation

Objective 3: Graduation/Post-Graduation3a. 90% of full-time MPH students will complete their degree within 3 years of matriculation. Graduate

School Database

3b. By 2018, the 3 year graduation rate of juniors will be 75%. Institutional Analysis

3c. 75% of recent MPH graduates will become employed in public health or settings closely Alumni

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related to their degree within 6 months of graduation. Survey3d. 5% of MPH graduates within the past year will be admitted to a program for further academic training (PhD, MD, etc.).

Alumni Survey

3e. 10% of MPH graduates will have local, regional or national leadership positions in public health.

Alumni Survey

3f. 60% of employed UNR MPH graduates are located in Nevada and the Intermountain West by 2015.By 2018, 50% of employed UNR MPH graduates are located in Nevada.

Alumni Survey

3g. By 2018, 20% of graduating students will take the CPH exam within one year of graduation. CPH report3h. By 2018, 80% of graduating students who take the CPH exam will pass it. CPH report3i. By 2018, 25% of CHS BS graduates will be tracked for post-graduation activities. Alumni

surveyGoal 2: “To develop the knowledge base for public health through research.”Objectives:1. 60% of faculty will publish one article in a peer-reviewed journal per year. Digital

Measures2. 70% of faculty will present research results at one scientific conference per year. Digital

Measures3. 70% of faculty will submit one proposal for grant funding per year. Digital

Measures4a. Total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015Over three years (by 2018), the total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.

Financial spreadsheet

4b. Number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015Over three years (by 2018), the number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.

Digital Measures

Goal 3: “To be recognized for leadership in public health.”Objective:1. 25% of faculty will hold positions on review panels, study sections, editor positions, and

other influential bodies.Digital Measures

2. 30% of faculty will share health-related information with community or media by 2015. Digital Measures

Goal 4: “To engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service.”Objectives:1. 40% of faculty will co-author reports and publications with colleagues at other units on

campus.Digital Measures

2. 30% of faculty will co-author reports, publications, and presentations with community members.

Digital Measures and staff Survey

3. 15% of faculty will provide workshops, trainings and continuing education opportunities to public health professionals.

Digital Measures

4. 15% of faculty will provide technical assistance to the community, including but not limited to, program evaluations, consulting, data analysis, grant partnerships.

Digital Measures

5. 50% of UNR faculty are members of community boards or committees. Digital Measures

6. 10% of UNR SCHS committees will include a community member. (includes SCHS standing committees, CAB, ad hoc committees, MPH committees)

Program Director

7. 40% of faculty will serve as reviewers of journal articles and grant applications. Digital Measures

8. Annually, the SCHS Community Advisory Board will represent at least 6 different CAB Minutes

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professional fields or community groups.Goal 5: “To expose students to diversity in multiple venues.”

Objectives:1. Faculty and staff are representative of women, underrepresented minority, and other

diverse groups in the relevant labor markets by 2015. Relevant Labor Markets Women Faculty:54% Staff: 46% Minority Faculty:16% Staff: 21%

By 2018, faculty and student populations will meet diversity goals as follows:Faculty: 20% Latino, 5% African American, and 3% Native American/Alaska NativeGrad students: 20% Latino, 5% African American, 3 % Native American/Alaska Native, 30% first generation collegeUndergraduate students: 20% Latino, 10% African American, 5% Native American/Alaska native, 30% first generation college

Admissions FormsFaculty and Staff Survey

2. There will be 1 new effort to recruit underrepresented populations (either locally or outside of local market) for the MPH program per year.

Diversity report

3. Applicants for faculty positions will meet UNR’s applicant pool diversity requirements and there will be at least 1 new effort to either recruit or hire diverse faculty and staff for any new searches that year.By 2018, SCHS will meet all diversity requirements for all searches at the first report.

Search Committee Report

4. 55% of MPH applicants will report experience working with underrepresented populations. MPH apps5. 85% of faculty address issues affecting underrepresented populations in their work. Digital

MeasuresNote: Italicized objectives are new and were created in 2015 with targets set for 2018. Objectives without a target year specified are the same for 2015 and 2018.

e. Development of mission, values, goals and objectives

The mission and goals were originally developed for the MPH program when it was formed in 2000. The process used faculty committees with student input and the language was voted on by the entire faculty. During the initial accreditation self-study, the mission and goals were revised by faculty and student committees and input from the newly formed Community Advisory Committee was solicited. Outside constituents (adjunct faculty and public health professionals) were also asked for input.

Measureable objectives tied to the mission and values for the MPH program were first developed in SCHS faculty subcommittees and were initially adopted in the fall of 2009. Input was sought from students and external constituents before final approval. Data sources were identified at that time and new evaluation materials created to ensure objective measurements would be available in future years for review and revision.

f. Dissemination and updating mission, values, goals and objectives

The mission, goals and values have been prominently displayed in the halls of the School of Community Health Sciences. This year when the mission and values were updated, the students assisted in producing a more engaging and exciting display. They are made available on the School’s website and partially included in program materials. The student handbook includes the information and is available on the website. The objectives and measurements have not been displayed but plans include identifying selected objectives to be displayed in a dashboard and in future annual reports.

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The mission and goals are reviewed every two years since the formation of the MPH program in 2000 and are revised as needed. The faculty hold school-wide retreats twice a year at the beginning of each semester. Strategic planning, which includes reviewing goals and mission, occurs annually. The mission, vision and values were reviewed and approved in Spring of 2012 at a faculty retreat including the Community Advisory Board (CAB). At that meeting a school tagline was also discussed. From three phrases suggested by the faculty, a school wide vote was taken with hundreds of student participating. “Making Health Happen” was the clear winner and has become a vibrant tagline for the SCHS.

Three years ago as the university began to emerge from the recession, the school was asked to create a strategic plan. A plan to grow to a School of Public Health was drafted by the director and was subsequently revised and approved by the faculty in 2013. The plan has been endorsed by the Vice President of the Division and the University president. The plan includes a significant increase in faculty over a 7 year period and the creation of additional MPH areas of specialization and PhD programs. It includes an emphasis on increasing research activity and creation of supporting infrastructure. The plan is being funded as requested and this prompted a reexamination of the mission, goals and values initiated fall 2014 and completed in summer 2015. The work was done by a faculty and student subcommittee and reviewed by the CAB. This was particularly important in light of the growth of the School, the evolution to a school of public health, and increasing engagement with the community. This resulted in revision of the mission statement and a new values statement to reflect more energy and engagement. The changes were voted on by the faculty at large and adopted in August 2015.

Measurable objectives have been updated twice since accreditation in 2011 to represent more realistic goals. The updates have been proposed by a faculty subcommittee and were discussed and voted on by the faculty during retreats and meetings. As new faculty have joined the department, new ideas and perspectives have invigorated the process of defining success and measuring outcomes. The last revision of the objectives was started by a subcommittee in fall of 2014 and completed in summer 2015 after significant faculty discussion and vote. New objectives for the undergraduate program were added at that time. The Community Advisory Board reviewed the mission, goals, values and objectives at their summer meeting in June 2015 and suggested changes that were incorporated and voted on at the August 2015 faculty retreat.

g. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans

This criterion is met. Strengths:

This program has relied on a mission statement, goals and objectives since inception and has made regular efforts to keep these up-to-date and relevant.

The goals of increasing faculty and encouraging faculty to engage in education, research and community service are realistic and supported by the President, Provost, Vice President Division of Health Sciences and leadership at UNR.

Weaknesses: The faculty are still in search of better outcome measures for educational attainments for both

the undergraduate and graduate programs.Plans:

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Continue to review goals and objectives yearly and identify existing data that will provide objective measurements.

Consider instituting an annual review of progress towards goals to be posted on our website and shared with our Community Advisory Board and community partners.

1.2 Evaluation

a. Evaluation process

The Director of the Center for Program Evaluation (CPE, a center within the SCHS) was hired to collect and analyze data and provide quarterly and annual reports. She reviews and uploads data from the on-line Digital Measures reporting system that faculty complete each year capturing accomplishments in service, teaching, and research) to measure the objectives related to faculty accomplishments. She also reviews and analyzes the MPH student evaluation surveys of courses and faculty. Data for student efforts are available from recruitment and admission records, instructor records in My Nevada, alumni surveys collected by the CPE and UNR, and internship and preceptor evaluations. The CPE director has access to all data sources to ensure objective reporting. Each objective defined in Criterion 1.1d and noted in the chart is followed by the data source in the final column.

Undergraduate assessment efforts are centralized and unit specific. The UNR undergraduate core curriculum has undergone substantial change over the last 3 years as has the assessment process. UNR now collects undergraduate student evaluation of faculty in a centralized database and shares with the SCHS. Previously each CHS course was evaluated using paper assessments. The assessments were comprehensive and analyzed student opinion regarding their own growth and learning. This system was not efficient since it required staff to translate written comments into reports for faculty. The SCHS had tried an online evaluation with the same form but student participation was poor. With UNR centralization, there is not as much information available and with the SCHS BS undergraduate program significantly changed, the undergraduate committee is responsible for evaluating assessment activities and suggesting changes to the objectives for undergraduate students. Data are available from UNR Institutional Analysis for graduation rates, GPA and diversity. Current data sources that may be tapped in the future include faculty evaluation data from students (the UNR measurement system) and results of the new competency survey for undergraduates that was designed and piloted in 2014-2015 by SCHS faculty. In addition, a new UNR alumni survey is being piloted by Career Studio to track student outcomes. It is unclear if this will give the SCHS sufficient data for our undergraduate outcomes. To help us meet our measurement goals (track 40% of our undergraduates by 2018), a tracking system will be developed at the SCHS.

An annual diversity report is due to UNR administration each November and data for this is collected by the SCHS director from Division of Health Sciences advisor reports on student demographics, from MPH student enrollment forms, from search reports and from internship placement information.

b. Using evaluations to enhance programs

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Annual evaluation updates are prepared to show progress in meeting stated objectives. The data are reviewed and discussed by the faculty in various venues starting in the graduate and undergraduate committees, composed of faculty and students, and then going forward to the general faculty.

For objectives not meeting or making progress towards defined levels, discussions and recommendations are made for a vote. Actions are identified and responsible parties are assigned. The graduate or undergraduate director is ultimately responsible, along with the SCHS Director for implementing needed changes. An example of changes resulting from evaluation is the response to not meeting defined levels for diversity in 2012. A graduate student from an ethnic minority was engaged as a graduate assistant to help with the development of recruiting materials and to participate in recruiting events. This proved to be so successful that every year a graduate assistant position is dedicated to improving diversity recruitment and works closely with the graduate director and the Coordinator for Field Studies and Community Engagement.

Student evaluation information from student surveys of courses and faculty are addressed by the graduate and undergraduate committees. For graduate courses, after the CPE director reviews and analyzes information, each faculty member and the graduate director receive a copy of their evaluation. Information from this survey is used to refine courses, change course progressions, address grade inequities, and alter electives. Internship and preceptor evaluations led to a change in 2014 in the required classes that must be passed before an MPH student can take their internship. For undergraduate courses, student evaluation information is accessible to each faculty member, the undergraduate director and the SCHS Director. Changing content, delivery methods, and updating syllabi have all resulted from committee deliberations. All curricular changes are recommended to the faculty for vote at general meetings. Last year, the University committed to participate in a new initiative, the Student Success Collaborative tracking undergraduate student outcomes via online portals throughout their college experience. The intent of this initiative is to continuously evaluate student outcomes and provide information to colleges and faculty for use in advising and assessment activities. The go-live date for this initiative is April 2016. The undergraduate curriculum committee chair and SCHS director will be participating in the planning and implementation of this system. When the data elements in this program are better known, the undergraduate committee will review and potentially revise the objectives to use these data for ongoing improvement activities.

c. Program performance data Table 1.2.c. SCHS Goals and Objectives—Performance Data 2013-2015Goal 1: “To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers, educators and leaders.”

Objective 1: Recruitment/Admissions Target 2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

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1a. 80% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have an overall undergraduate GPA that exceeds 3.2.

80% 67% 83% 53%

1b. 40% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have verbal and quantitative GRE scores that exceed the 50th percentile.

40% 44% 48% 33%

1c. By 2015, historically underrepresented racial/ethnic populations will comprise 10% of the students accepted to the MPH program.

By 201510%

46% 18% 36%

20% of MPH applicant pool will include students representative of target diversity groups (Latino, African American, Native American/Alaska Native, first generation college).

(New)By

2018 20%

-- -- 36%

Objective 2: Education/Training2a. 90% of MPH students will receive grades of B- or higher in the MPH core and required courses ( first time they take the course)

90% 93% 93% 94%

2b. 60% of undergraduate CHS majors will have a GPA of 3.0 at graduation.

(New) By

201860%

71% 61% 60%

2c. By 2015, 95% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH professional paper.By 2018, 90% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH professional paper in the same semester during which they were enrolled in the Capstone course.

By 201595%

By 201890%

100% 96% 100%

2d. 30% of MPH students participate with faculty in research activities.

30% 58% 64% 49%

2e.By 2015, 75% of MPH students will be involved in leadership roles and/or providing service to the community or university.

By 2018, 60% of MPH students will be involved in providing service to the community or university, in addition to coursework, the internship or paid work.

By 201575%

By 201860%

68% 64% 45%

2f. 90% of MPH students completing internships will be rated by their preceptors at “good” or above.

(New)By

2018 90%

-- -- 100%

2g. 75% of undergraduate students completing their internship will be rated at “good” or above.

(New)By

2018 75%

-- -- 95%

2h. 80% of MPH students will rate the quality of their internship as being “good” or above

(New)By

2018 80%

-- -- 100%

Objective 3: Graduation/Post-Graduation3a. 90% of full-time MPH students will complete their degree within 3 years of matriculation.

90% 100% 100% 93%

3b. By 2018, the 3 year graduation rate of juniors will be 75% (New)By

Not yet availabl

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2018 55%

e

3c. 75% of recent MPH graduates will become employed in public health or settings closely related to their degree within 6 months of graduation.

75% 92% 93% Not yet availabl

e3d. 5% of MPH graduates within the past year will be admitted to a program for further academic training (PhD, MD, etc.).

5% 0% 13% 23%

3e. 10% of MPH graduates will have local, regional or national leadership positions in public health.

10% 23% 20% Not yet availabl

e3f. By 2018, 50% of employed UNR MPH graduates are located in Nevada. By

201850%

64% 82% Not yet availabl

e

3g. By 2018, 20% of graduating students will take the CPH exam within one year of graduation.

(New)20%

-- 29% 9%

3h. By 2018, 80% of graduating students who take the CPH exam will pass it.

(New)80%

-- 100% 50%

3i. By 2018, 25% of CHS BS graduates will be tracked for post-graduation activities.

(New)25%

-- -- --

Goal 2: “To develop the knowledge base for public health through research.”Objectives:1. 60% of faculty will publish one article in a peer-reviewed journal per year.

60% 69% 58% 71%

2. 70% of faculty will present research results at one scientific conference per year.

70% 70% 92% 71%

3. 70% of faculty will submit one proposal for grant funding per year.

70% 71% 64% 89%

4a.Total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015 (2010-2011 baseline=$16,334/faculty FTE)Over three years (by 2018), the total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.

5% increase from baselin

e

$10,191/FTE38%

decrease from

baseline

$19,121/FTE17%

increase from

baseline

$32,287/FTE98%

increase from

baseline4b. Number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015Over three years (by 2018), the number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.

5% increase from baselin

e

1.4/FTE 1.2/FTE 1.2/FTE

Goal 3: “To be recognized for leadership in public health.”Objective:1. 25% of faculty will hold positions on review panels, study sections, editor positions, and other influential bodies.

25% 46% 46% 40%

2. 30% of faculty will share health-related information with community or media.

30% 33% 41% 53%

Goal 4: “To engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service.”Objectives:1. 40% of faculty will co-author reports and publications with colleagues at other units on campus.

40% 50% 53% 44%

2. 30% of faculty will co-author reports, publications, and 30% 38% 40% 50%

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presentations with community members.3. 15% of faculty will provide workshops, trainings and continuing education opportunities to public health professionals.

15% 33% 41% 47%

4. 15% of faculty will provide technical assistance to the community, including but not limited to, program evaluations, consulting, data analysis, grant partnerships.

15% 56% 47% 58%

5. 50% of UNR faculty are members of community boards or committees.

50% 56% 59% 63%

6. 10% of UNR SCHS committees will include a community member. (includes SCHS standing committees, CAB, ad hoc committees, MPH committees)

10% 62% 74% 55%

7. 40% of faculty will serve as reviewers of journal articles and grant applications.

40% 73% 86% 93%

9. Annually, the SCHS Community Advisory Board will represent at least 6 different professional fields or community groups.

(New)6

-- -- 8

Goal 5: “To expose students to diversity in multiple venues.”Objectives:

1. (2015) Faculty and staff are representative of women, underrepresented minority, and other diverse groups in the relevant labor markets by 2015. Women: Faculty 54% Staff: 46% Minority: Faculty 16% Staff 21%

By 2015

Women Faculty:

61%Staff: 100%

Minority Faculty:

22%Staff: 0%

Women Faculty:

59%Staff:100%

Minority Faculty:

20%Staff: 0%

Women Faculty:

60%Staff:10

0%Minority Faculty:

25%Staff: 0%

(2018) faculty and student populations will meet diversity goals as follows:

Faculty: 20% Latino , 5% African American, and 3% Native American/Alaska NativeGrad students: 20% Latino, 5% African American, 3 % Native American/Alaska Native, 30% first generation college

Undergraduate students: 20% Latino, 10% African American, 5% Native American/Alaska native, 30% first generation college

(New)By

2018

-- --See

Template 1.8.1

2. There will be 1 new effort per year to recruit underrepresented populations (either locally or outside of local market) for the MPH progra.

Met Met Met

2 SCHS will meet all diversity requirements for all searches at the first report.

100% 100% 100%

3 55% of MPH applicants will report experience working with underrepresented populations.

63% 71% 64%

4 85% of faculty address issues affecting underrepresented populations in their work.

81% 87% 89%

Note: Italicized objectives are new and were created in 2015 with targets set for 2018. Objectives without a target year specified are the same for 2015 and 2018.

d. Development of the self-study

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The Director and the undergraduate program chair attended the CEPH meeting in August 2014. The SCHS director set out tasks and timelines at the fall 2014 retreat appointing lead faculty to organize the assessment of curricula and competencies for the MPH emphases in Epidemiology (KCN), Social Behavioral Health (PD), new emphasis in Health Administration and Policy (MM), and for the undergraduate program BS in Public Health and Kinesiology (DC). Faculty doing evaluation were tapped to identify needed changes and ensure that discussion was scheduled and votes taken. The Coordinator for the Field Studies and Community Engagement provided data on the internship experience, recruiting, and community participation. The CPE director prepared templates and narrative on evaluation sections. The UNR Institutional Analysis office provided important data. An ad hoc committee wrote narrative and edited to create the section on diversity. Graduate students completed the E-resources document, reviewed catalogs, websites and handbooks for data matching, reviewed the self-study and provided comments. The UNR budget office provided comment on the financial sections. Self-study components were discussed and votes were taken on some of the changes at the fall retreat in August 2015; further modifications were discussed and voted on at the September 2015 faculty meeting. The final draft was reviewed, discussed and edited by faculty.

The preliminary self-study document was posted on the SCHS shared drive website in August 2015. The SCHS Community Advisory Board reviewed selected parts of this version at their September 2015 meeting. Selected adjunct faculty of the SCHS were given access to the document in early September 2015 for review. Patty Charles, DrPH completed final review and editing and will be available to serve in this role during the fall 2015 semester as it is anticipated that final refinement will be accomplished in response to the comments of the preliminary self-study by reviewers (fall 2015) and further input will be requested.

e. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans relating to this criterion.

This criterion is met.

Strengths: The program has an explicit evaluation plan with objective data sources, responsible personnel

and regular reporting. The evaluation activities continue to improve with creation of better surveys and participation in

annual updates to CEPH.Weaknesses:

Data sources, particularly Digital Measures, can be difficult to use and data is not always classified the same by faculty when they fill out the form. This requires more effort by the evaluation team.

Financial data that is prepared by centralized sources is not detailed enough to accurately describe revenue and expenses and it is not done in a timely fashion.

Plans: A detailed information sheet was created to help faculty fill out Digital Measures but has not

been updated or shared with all new faculty. A meeting with faculty to go over this material is planned prior to the next evaluation cycle (December 2015).

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A new, detailed set of spreadsheets will be created to update financial data for the school

1.3 Institutional Environment

a. The University of Nevada, Reno The School of Community Health Sciences (SCHS) is a unit of the Division of Health Sciences of the University of Nevada, Reno.

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) is a constitutionally established (1874), land-grant university classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Education as a Comprehensive Doctoral institution with medical and/or veterinary medicine. Within the university, nine colleges offer a range of undergraduate and graduate majors. Graduate-level training and research, including doctoral-level programs enhance the university's mission to create scholarly activity.

Nevada is listed as one of the top 120 universities in America for funded research, according to the Carnegie Foundation. With more than $175 million in research expenditures (FY 2014) the University is the leading research enterprise in Nevada's higher-education system.

The Division of Health Sciences (DHS) includes the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Social Work and Community Health Sciences, and included several free-standing centers. Its chief administrative officer is the Vice President for Health Sciences (VPHS). The VPHS is currently also the Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. Thomas Schwenk. Trudy Larson, MD, was hired as Director of the School of Community Health Sciences in 2011. The Director reports to the Vice President for Health Sciences and level of authority and reporting lines are equivalent to those of the Directors of the schools of nursing and social work. Dr. Larson has standing monthly meetings with the vice president and communicates directly with him whenever needed.

UNR is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. The university has maintained accreditation status since 1938. On February 12, 2014, the NWCCU reaffirmed the accreditation based on the continuous process of review that was instituted in 2011. There are also numerous university programs accredited by national professional accrediting organizations. These

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specialized accrediting organizations, recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, are in the E-resource files.

b. Reporting infrastructure and organizational charts

The president is the university’s chief executive, with ultimate decision-making responsibility for all aspects of the institution. The Executive Vice President and Provost reports directly to the president and is the university’s chief academic officer. Other aspects of university operations, such as administration and finance, information technology, development, student services and sponsored research are the responsibility of distinct vice presidents. Academic programs of the university are divided into colleges defined along subject-matter lines. Each college is headed by a dean who reports to the Provost. Departments are grouped within colleges and department chairs report to their respective deans. In general, departments are the fundamental academic units of UNR.

The University’s Division of Health Sciences departs from this general structure. The division, which includes the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Community Health Sciences and Social Work is headed by the Vice President for Health Sciences who has a direct reporting line to the president, as well as to the provost. Because of this reporting line, the division is viewed as a higher administrative unit than the colleges. The Dean of the School of Medicine and the Directors of the Schools of Nursing, Community Health Sciences and Social Work all report to the VPHS. Schools that have directors, rather than a dean, are regarded as intermediate units with attributes of both colleges and departments.

The vice presidents and deans interact regularly with the president and provost. Chairs of academic departments relate primarily to the deans of their colleges, while in the Division of Health Sciences, directors of schools interact in a similar way with the VPHS. In most situations, the deans and the VPHS represent the departments and schools to higher administrators. However, school directors may communicate with the provost and meet with him when the need arises.

c. Program responsibility in key areas

- Budget and resource allocation

The university administration sets the non-grant portion of academic unit budgets in consultation with the deans and vice presidents. Directors work with the vice president and chief financial officer of the DHS to set budgets. Under the university’s funding formula unit budgets are proportional to the number of instructional faculty. Units also receive 7.75% of indirect costs receipts for grants involving unit faculty. Principal investigators receive another 7.75%. Tuition and fees are not returned directly to the units that generate them, but are part of the pool of funds available to the administration to meet the university’s operating expenses and growth. Fund-raising support is typically provided at the college or division level by specialized development staff. Self-supporting budgets from a variety of sources (contracts and grants) add revenue to the unit for support of faculty, staff, graduate assistants, operations, equipment, and supplies and are controlled by the School.

– Personnel recruitment, selection and advancement

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Faculty recruitment, selection and advancement are handled internally by the school and the division. Searches for tenure-track faculty are initiated by the school through a request process from the provost. Proposals are reviewed and authorized by the vice president and then sent to the provost for approval. The areas in which new faculty are recruited are determined by the schools in consultation with the vice president. When a search is successful and a candidate is identified, the selection is made by the school and requires approval from the vice president and the provost. There is considerable flexibility in hiring grant-funded, non-tenure track faculty, but approval of the vice president is still required. Faculty promotion and tenure applications are also initiated by the school following a standard schedule. Applications are reviewed within the school by a faculty committee, reviewed by the vice president and by a faculty committee at the university level. Recommendations for promotion and tenure must be approved by the vice president and the provost. Awards of tenure require final approval by the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

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http://www.unr.edu/Documents/president/office/Univ-OrgChart_091714.pdf

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Classified staff positions are governed by the policies and procedures of the Nevada State Personnel System. Staff hires are initiated by the school, and staff are evaluated within the units according to state personnel policies. The vice president must review and approve staff evaluations but is usually not involved directly.

– Academic standards and policies

Academic standards and policies are established by the Board of Regents and operationalized through the UNR Provost’s office. Curricula are developed and managed within academic units. Proposals for new curricula and changes to existing ones are reviewed by division and university committees on courses and curricula. Graduate curricula are also reviewed by the University’s Graduate Council. These reviews tend to be concerned primarily with the potential for duplication of courses and programs within the university and working within common course numbering within the entire higher education system. Proposals for new majors and new degrees also require approval by the Board of Regents. Unless significant changes are proposed, oversight of curricula is within the purview of the academic unit.

Minimum academic standards for graduate degrees are set by the UNR Graduate School. Academic units may set additional requirements if they do not conflict with graduate school policies. For example, a unit may establish the number of credits required for a degree, as long as that number is no less than the minimum established by the graduate school.

d. If a collaborative program, descriptions of all participating institutions and delineation of their relationships to the program. Not Applicable

e. If a collaborative program, a copy of the formal written agreement that establishes the rights and obligations of the participating universities in regard to the program’s operation. Not Applicable

f. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans This criterion is met.

Strengths: The SCHS is part of an accredited university with well-defined processes and reporting

structure. The university administrative structure supports the activities of the SCHS

Weaknesses: The classified staff system is governed by the state rather than the university. This is not always

a good fit for academic activities.Plans:

The university is moving towards a paperless administration that will improve efficiencies and communication. Although the implementation will be difficult, the outcome will enhance the function of the SCHS within the university.

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1.4 Organization and Administration

a. Administrative organization of the programs

Over the last two years, the School of Community Health Sciences has grown in the number of faculty, from 16 to 24, and the number of units, from 1 to 3 supporting the goals of learning, research and service. In particular, the SCHS now includes the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory (NSPHL) that serves the entire state in support of public health and the Center for Survey Research housed with the Nevada Center for Health Statistics and Surveys. These are newly incorporated into the school and they both have capacity to add to the educational, research and service functions through collaborations with faculty and students. The NSPHL houses the Newborn Screening program in addition to all the laboratory support for preparedness, communicable disease surveillance, and food safety. The newly updated laboratory director position (search in process) will hold a faculty appointment in SCHS. The missions of the lab and the SCHS are complimentary and synergistic. The Center for Survey Research already collaborates with faculty in the SCHS (BRFSS for example) and the merger creates efficiencies to collaborations and enhances research opportunities for both.

One important faculty addition, starting in January 2016, is an Associate Director. The Associate Director will be responsible for overseeing the academic activities of the school and will serve as the graduate and undergraduate curriculum director. Duties also include working closely with staff on scheduling and recruiting adjunct faculty and mentoring new faculty. This position will be key in providing the infrastructure to support all the missions of the SCHS as the school continues to grow.

b. Interdisciplinary coordination, cooperation and collaboration

Public health learning within the SCHS is coordinated and monitored by the graduate and undergraduate director and the curriculum committees. The committees include members of all the public health disciplines to promote internal coordination with content, scheduling and evaluation. Both graduate and undergraduate courses require support from a cadre of well-educated adjunct faculty, many of whom are employed in public health. The SCHS Director and the graduate and undergraduate directors work with a dedicated classified staff member to coordinate the adjunct faculty selection, hiring and support. Adjunct faculty are supported by full-time faculty to coordinate learning objectives, deliver consistent content, and utilize campus resources. Classes from other colleges such as College of Business are integrated into the curriculum and the relevant curriculum committees coordinate schedules to ensure access for students.

Over the last two years, public health learning has been integrated into the University of Nevada School of Medicine (UNSOM) curriculum. Two faculty members from SCHS sit on the UNSOM Year 1-2 curriculum committee and work with UNSOM faculty to integrate public health curriculum throughout the first two years. This important collaboration is supported by the Dean of UNSOM and spearheaded through the Office of Medical Education. Much has been learned by this interdisciplinary coordination. In addition, a new program with family medicine residents just started where residents will complete their residency in four years with a MPH. This program is jointly administered by the graduate director of SCHS and the family medicine residency director.

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The Cultural Considerations in Health conference is an annual conference created and coordinated by the Division. In its fourth year, this event is a product of interdisciplinary planning among the Schools of Medicine, Community Health Sciences, Social Work and Nursing. Students serve as primary planners, supported by faculty from each school and work in a committee to plan and implement this two day event on campus for students and faculty. The conference serves an important role in highlighting cultural issues in health and focuses on different dimensions each year. Students become aware of other disciplines and have the opportunity to listen and participate in sessions and engage in hands on learning. Public health emerges as a foundational topic for this conference and increases awareness of the discipline among attendees.

The SCHS has a strong relationship with both the local and state public health authorities. Many aspects of these relationships are coordinated through the Coordinator for Field Studies and Community Engagement. The Nevada State Division of Public and Behavioral Health provides internship opportunities for students, contracts with faculty for evaluation services and continuing education, and partners with faculty and the public health laboratory on grants. The Coordinator supports all aspects of the internship relationship as well as participating in the Western Region Public Health Training Center program that is establishing continuing education for working professionals. The local health authorities in Washoe County and Carson City also work with the Coordinator. The SCHS director maintains regular communication with the health authorities in the state through participation in the Nevada Public Health Foundation board (all health authorities are represented on the board) and through joint programs supporting research and service.

Contracts and grants with local and state agencies support research and serve the community. In addition to opportunities identified through the Coordinator, faculty have developed excellent relationships with external constituents that include school districts, community non-profits, and foundations. The Center for Program Evaluation has a number of these contracts and utilizes a philosophy that supports significant collaboration and input from contracted entities.

b. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans This criterion is met.

Strengths:

The SCHS is organized to support the growth of the school through strong collaborative networks and a defined reporting structure.

Weaknesses and Plans:

The lack of administrative positions within the SCHS has made it difficult for the director to cover all aspects of teaching, research and service. The arrival of the new Associate director will significantly help manage growth. The Coordinator has been an excellent addition but burgeoning student populations have stressed that position. Graduate students are now being assigned to assist and potential for an added part time position will be assessed over the next year.

1.5 Governance.

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a. Committee structure

Undergraduate Committee: lead by the undergraduate director, is responsible to monitor the quality of undergraduate program including conducting periodic review of the

curriculum and assessment of learning outcomes; provide recommendations pertaining to changes, modifications, or additions to the

undergraduate curricula, and recommend actions to the Director and the faculty at large (FAL); develop policy and procedures for field studies and independent studies; develop an assessment plan, conduct assessment activities, and provide assessment

data to the university’s assessment office; determine students/ eligible candidates for undergraduate scholarships and awards and

recommend to the FAL ; review student grade appeals or grievances and recommend action if requested to

do so by the Director; and, recommend possible promotional literature or events for student recruitment

All faculty members with at least 0.5 FTE in the School are eligible to serve on the Committee. The SCHS Director makes appointments of members to the committee with input from the faculty. Terms are three years, unless another term is agreed upon. There is no minimum or maximum number of members.Current Members: Dan Cook (chair), Nora Constantino, Jim Wilson, Jeff Angermann, Karla Wagner, So Young Ryu, Amy Fitch, Julie Smith-Gagen, Raina Benford (student)

Graduate Committee: lead by the graduate director, is responsible to monitor the quality of the graduate program develop competencies and the means to assess the extent to which competencies are met conduct regular reviews of curriculum, competencies, and assessment results and

recommend changes needed to ensure that competencies are met regularly review accreditation criteria set by CEPH and other relevant bodies and

recommend changes needed to ensure compliance develop an assessment plan, conduct assessment activities, and provide assessment

data to the university’s assessment office recommend to the FAL, candidates for graduate scholarships and awards; provide recommendations pertaining to changes, modifications, or additions to the

graduate curricula, graduate curriculum matters, and recommend actions to the Director and the FAL

process graduate applications for admission to the graduate program review applications for Graduate Assistant positions, and make recommendations to

the Director develop marketing programs to increase student enrollment in the graduate programs

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All faculty members with at least 0.5 FTE in the School are eligible to serve on the Committee. The SCHS Director makes appointments of members to the Committee with input from the faculty. Terms are three years, unless another term is agreed upon. At least one graduate student shall serve on the Graduate Committee.Current Members: Wei Yang (Chair), Elizabeth Christiansen, Kristen Clements-Nolle, Gerold Dermid, Erin Grinshteyn, Julie Lucero, Michelle Granner, Roman Pabay, Taylor Lensch and Alison Claudianos (students)

Personnel/Promotion & Tenure Committee: lead by a rotating chair, is charged to: develop, in consultation with the Director and with input from the FAL, consistent,

reproducible standards for evaluation of faculty performance in accordance withbylaws, regulations, and policies of higher levels of governance

inform the faculty of these standards advise and make recommendations to the Director regarding faculty performance,

roles and goals, promotion and tenure review, along with the Director, annual goals of all School faculty members to assure

compliance with the School’s mission and needs at the request of the Director, to advise regarding other faculty personnel issues

All faculty members with at least 0.5 FTE in the School are eligible to serve on the Committee. The Committee has at least four members, at least three of whom are current, tenured faculty. The fourth member may be a lecturer, research faculty member, or a tenure-track faculty member that is in the first or second year of service. Members of the Personnel and Promotion and Tenure Committee are elected by the FAL. Potential members can be nominated by self or other. All those who accept nomination will be placed on a ballot and an election is held. The nominee(s) with the greatest number(s) of votes is elected to the Committee. Terms are for three years for all faculty. Terms are to be rotated so that at least one tenured position is open for appointment each year. Current members: Minggen Lu (chair), Judith Sugar, Jeff Angermann, and Kristen Clements-Nolle.

Steering Committee: lead by the Director, is charged to ensure coordination between and among School committees and academic programs and to advise the SCHS Director on the mission, goals, and direction of the School. Membership includes the Director of Undergraduate Education, the Director of Graduate Education, the Personnel/P&T Committee Chair, the leaders of each specialty area and the SCHS Director. At the discretion of the Director, other members may be appointed. The Steering committee acts as the self-study committee for CEPH.Current members: Trudy Larson (chair), Mel Minarik, Kristen Clements-Nolle, Paul Devereux, Nora Constantino, Minggen Lu, Dan Cook, Wei Yang

Ad hoc committees: time limited committees appointed and charged by the Director.

Bylaws: Last constituted in 2013-14 and charged by the Director to address needed amendments to capture current practice.

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Space committee: Last constituted in 2012-2013 to address space planning to serve the faculty needs for research and teaching. Newly configured as a vision committee (2015) to begin early planning for a new building.

Search committees: search committees constituted over the last 3 years include: Epidemiology search committee for 3 positions, Biostatistics search committee for 2 positions, Social Behavioral Search committee for 2 positions, Environmental Health search committee for one position, Health Administration and Policy search committee for one position, Associate Director SCHS search committee for one position. Search committees for 2015: Biostatistics (chair Minggen Lu, SCHS), Health Administration and Policy (chair, Jeanne Wendell, College of Business), and Kinesiology (chair, James Fitzsimmons, Center for Recreation and Wellness).

Program Review Committee: charged to oversee the university program review process and documentation every 8 years (chair, Michelle Granner).

Scheduling committee: Operational in nature to ensure that courses are scheduled to meet sequencing issues for both MPH and undergraduate students (chair, Trudy Larson).

b. Identification of how the following functions are addressed within the program’s committees and organizational structure.

The governance and general program policy development of the School of Community Health Sciences is established in the school’s bylaws under the authority of the bylaws of the Division of Health Sciences and the bylaws of the University of Nevada, Reno and the Code of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Within the School of Community Health Sciences, the director is the primary level of governance and final authority. The director is appointed by the president of the university on the recommendation of the vice president for health sciences and the faculty of the school. The faculty constitutes the second level of governance. Rights and responsibilities of the faculty are established by the Bylaws of the University (Chapter III, sec. 39 E-resource, UNR bylaws). Under the bylaws of the school, the faculty provides input regarding policies and procedures. Policy recommendations are developed by standing or ad hoc committees of faculty and brought forward to the director for consideration. The director may also develop policies and procedures needed for the operation of the school. The director leads strategic planning initiatives. The Steering committee serves as an initial reviewer for policies, procedures and planning changes. The faculty votes on matters affecting the mission, programming and functioning of the school. Approval by majority vote of the faculty is required for curriculum changes (described below), establishment of new academic programs and centers, appointment of adjunct faculty, and amendment of the bylaws. In other matters, votes of the faculty are advisory to the director. Decisions of the director can be appealed by a majority vote of the faculty, which may petition the Vice President for Health Sciences if resolution cannot be reached internally. The university bylaws provide further mechanisms for resolution of faculty grievances.

Planning and evaluation are addressed by the Director and relevant faculty committees. Strategic planning is initiated by the Director and vetted by the faculty through discussion. Curricular planning and evaluation are under the purview of the designated undergraduate or graduate committee. Program evaluation and self-study are overseen by the Director with committee input as noted in section 1.1.

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Budget and resources for the programs of the School of Community Health Sciences are provided through the budget of the SCHS as described in 1.6. The budget is determined by the UNR administration in consultation with the Vice President of DHS and the director. The state budget includes lines for faculty, staff, and student salaries and operations for the school as a whole. The director determines budget reallocations as needed. Contracts and grants provide additional resources and are allocated by the principal investigators (faculty). Additional budget allocations are determined by the director in consultation with faculty for program support, equipment, travel, and teaching resources. The graduate director allocates graduate assistant positions to faculty to support teaching.

Classrooms (rooms not in the central pool of classrooms) and administrative space is shared by all of the school’s programs. Office and research space is assigned by the school director according to criteria specified in the bylaws and faculty may request changes to their office space. The director is responsible for budget and resource requests and for managing expenditures. The Division of Health Sciences Chief Financial Officer provides financial planning, facilitates resource requests, and assists with budgeting support for the director.

Student recruitment, admission and award of degrees are managed at the University and school level. Undergraduate recruitment and admission is conducted by UNR Student Services. Student recruitment to the SCHS degrees is done by faculty and the health sciences advisors. The BS degree is awarded by the School upon successful completion of the course of study determined by the faculty of the SCHS and attainment of university prescribed credits (120 credits).

The graduate committee sets admissions standards for the MPH program, reviews applicants to the program, and develops materials and strategies for marketing and student recruitment. A recruitment plan is in place that was developed by the graduate committee and involves faculty and students. Student progress towards graduation is monitored by the Graduate committee. Graduate degrees are awarded by UNR’s Graduate School after approval by the faculty of SCHS.

Faculty recruitment, retention, promotion and tenure are managed at the level of the school and the division (with approvals required at the university level). Searches for new faculty are initiated by the school director in consultation with the faculty and must be authorized by the Vice President for Health Sciences and the provost. The specific areas in which new faculty are recruited are prioritized according to the strategic plan developed by the SCHS. Development of a school of public health is a high priority in faculty recruitment, and all new tenure-line faculty members are expected to contribute. Searches for new faculty members are conducted by an ad hoc search committee approved by the director. The search committee is responsible for advertising, interviewing, and recommending candidates to the director, who makes the final selection, with approval by the vice president and provost.

UNR Bylaws and NSHE Code require that faculty are evaluated annually for research, teaching and service. At the beginning of each calendar year, faculty submit a role statement listing goals for the year. At the end of the calendar year, faculty submit an annual review document summarizing productivity recorded on Digital Measures (university online system). Evaluations must include student evaluations of teaching. Program faculty are evaluated initially by the School of Community Health Sciences Personnel/Promotion & Tenure Committee, which recommends an evaluation to the director. The

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director then produces an evaluation report, which takes the committee’s input into account. The director’s report is shared with the faculty member in writing and discussed in a meeting, and is then forwarded to the vice president for review and approval.

Promotion and tenure actions are also initiated within the school. Tenure track candidates are reviewed at year 3 by the Director and the Vice President for progress towards tenure. At year 4 and 5 the candidate has a tenure review conducted by the Director. Upon successful review, candidates prepare an application package that is defined by UNR Bylaws and NSHE Code. This document, along with letters from external referees that have been solicited by the director, is reviewed initially by the Personnel/Promotion & Tenure Committee. Following the P&T committee’s review, the director makes a written recommendation to the vice president that refers to the recommendation of the committee and the external referees. Recommendations for promotion and tenure require further approval by the university promotion and tenure committee. Awards of tenure must be approved by the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Academic standards and curricular activities are under both university and SCHS policies. Academic standards and policies for the undergraduate program are developed by the Regents, UNR Provost’s office and colleges and schools. In 2012 the UNR undergraduate core program was studied by an appointed faculty committee and recommendations for a new core program were developed and submitted for faculty vote. The Silver Core plan was approved by the faculty and a UNR committee of faculty and administrators was appointed to construct an implementation plan. A dedicated position was created to oversee the implementation of the Silver Core plan and full implementation is set for Fall 2016. Each school was tasked with restructuring their major requirements to include the core competencies as developed in the silver core. The SCHS faculty have updated courses and syllabi to reflect updated student learning outcomes and all courses have undergone core committee review and approval for inclusion in the catalog. The SCHS undergraduate committee as defined in the bylaws and noted in 1.5a, has had primary responsibility for overseeing the updating of the curriculum and defining the major requirements. Curriculum changes are voted on by the faculty at large and require a majority for implementation.

Academic standards and curricular activities for the graduate programs are developed by the SCHS Graduate Program Committee subject to the regulations of the Graduate School. The graduate committee and functions are shown in 1.5.a. The committee is required by the bylaws to have at least one member who is a graduate student. Student members typically serve for one academic year. The standards, policies and procedures are disseminated to students in the MPH Student Handbook (E resource, MPH student Handbook) and to faculty during orientation for advisors and in the guidelines for MPH Advisors. (E resource, Advising, MPH advisor timeline)

Both the undergraduate and graduate committees meet monthly during the academic year and have primary responsibility for establishing, reviewing and monitoring the curriculum, core competencies and evaluation.

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Proposals for new courses and curriculum changes must be reviewed and approved by the faculty and director of the school, and subsequently by the Division of Health Sciences Courses and Curriculum Committee, the University Courses and Curriculum Committee, and Graduate Council (for graduate courses). The school has a representative on the Division Courses and Curriculum Committee. The Division, in turn, has a representative on the university-level committee and the Graduate Council who represents the interests of the School of Community Health Sciences, as well as the other units in the division.

Research and service expectations of faculty are defined during the annual evaluation process but follow general research and service expectations of UNR as noted in the UNR bylaws. A generally accepted division of duties is 40% teaching, 40% research and 20% service. Each faculty member creates a role statement that may match or vary from the standard percentages that is discussed with and approved by the director. The SCHS personnel committee is tasked with presenting recommendations for research and service expectations to the director for consideration. These changes are brought forward by the director for general faculty discussion and vote. The changes are then included in the policies that define the expected research and service contributions of faculty. The most current revision was adopted by the faculty in September 2015.

c. Bylaws specifying rights and obligations of personnel

School of Community Health Sciences By-Laws (E-resource, SCHS bylaws) Board of Regents Handbook (Title 2 is NSHE’s formal Code)

http://system.nevada.edu/Nshe/index.cfm/administration/board-of-regents/handbook/ Board of Regents Policies and Procedures Manual

http://system.nevada.edu/Nshe/index.cfm/administration/board-of-regents/procedures-guidelines-manual/

UNR procedures and policies: University of Nevada, Reno Bylaws http://www.unr.edu/facultysenate/bylaws/UNR

%20Bylaws/unr-bylaws-8-10-2015.pdf University Administrative Manual

http://www.unr.edu/administrative-manual

d. Faculty contribution to the University

Division Committees: Committee Faculty Member(s)Courses and Curriculum Judith SugarExcellence in Teaching Kristen Clements-NolleCouncil on Diversity Initiatives Dan CookConflicts of Interest Dan CookCouncil on Diversity Dan CookInterdisciplinary Gerontology Curriculum Committee (IGCC) Judith Sugar, Erin Grinshteyn

UNSOM Block directors Julie Smith-GagenUpstream Nevada Project Mel Minarik

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School of Nursing Task Force Wei Yang

University Committees: Committee Faculty Member(s)Faculty Senate Judith SugarInstitutional Review Board Paul DevereuxService Learning Council Gerold DermidCore Ethics Advisory Committee Erin GrinshteynCore Board and Core Objective 4 committee Nora ConstantinoCampus Affairs Veronica DahirTibbetts Teaching Award committee Mel MinarikCenter for Recreation and Wellness Nora ConstantinoCampus Bicycle Committee Amy FitchFaculty Senate Professional Leave Committee Paul DevereuxGender, Race, Identity Studies Dan CookUniversity Athletic committee Mel MinarikTobacco Free University Implementation Team Dan CookSpecial Hearings Committee Kristen Clements-Nolle

e. Student governance and organizations

Students play a significant role in governance through a variety of mechanisms that include participation on important school committees, by actively evaluating faculty, courses, and internships, and participating in self-studies.

Undergraduate students are included in the undergraduate curriculum committee (a recent decision spearheaded by the Associated Students of the University of Nevada (ASUN)) and are asked to evaluate every course and the faculty who teach the course. The undergraduate club, the Public Health Coalition, elects officers and undertakes many activities during the school year. They are a registered club under the ASUN and have access to funds to support their activities. They also raise money for public health initiatives. They actively participate in the planning and implementation of the SCHS co-sponsored Cultural Considerations conference every spring.

Graduate students are active participants on the graduate committee and are involved in all decisions except those that involve student progress. In addition, graduate students are appointed to every faculty search committee, usually one student per search, and all graduate students are asked to formally evaluate all candidates. Students are asked to join ad hoc committees such as the Mission/Values committee and they provide valuable insight. Graduate students provide a more rigorous evaluation of graduate classes and experiences through formal evaluations. These evaluations are important in changing courses and curriculum and in the evaluation of faculty. The graduate students have a newly revised student Graduate Society of Public Health that elects officers and is a

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recognized member of the Graduate Student Association (the UNR association that utilizes student fees for programs and activities). MPH students have been members on the GSA board. The club hosts gatherings for many purposes including having speakers from the faculty and outside agencies, discussing current internal and external issues, and planning graduation activities.

Graduate students are participating in the preparation of the CEPH self-study by gathering documents, reviewing websites and documents for consistency, and will be asked to comment on the drafts of the self-study when they return to campus for the fall semester. In addition, the formal six year program review for UNR is starting in fall 2015 and graduate students will be collecting data, helping craft responses and will be meeting with program reviewers in the spring.

In addition to these more formal activities, students are encouraged to contact the undergraduate and graduate directors and/or the school director to discuss their issues regarding the school, courses, faculty, advisors and staff. Specifically, students have requested that they be changed from one advisor to another for various personal and professional reasons. These requests were accommodated in order to ensure an optimal experience for both student and advisors.

All students may initiate comments in person or by email and faculty and staff email addresses are readily available on the web page. A stable communication system was developed using WebCampus to promote better and surer communication between students and faculty following student input about lack of access to announcements. This was a very positive change in policy and procedure initiated by student concern.

f. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans

This criteria is met.

Strengths: The SCHS has an active and participatory committee structure that includes students with

responsibilities for important school activities. All faculty are expected to contribute. The bylaws are regularly reviewed and revised to reflect changing operations of the school.

Weaknesses and Plans: The undergraduate students just recently suggested that they be included in the curriculum

committee. After faculty discussion, it was agreed to ask for a student volunteer for the undergraduate curriculum committee.

With the arrival of the Associate Director in January, part of the bylaws and structure will need revision.

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1.6 Fiscal Resources.

a. Budget and allocation of funds processEach institutional President is responsible for recommending to the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) for approval the allocation of resources to (instruction, academic support, student services, etc. within the college or university budget. Institutional Presidents have flexibility in establishing a budget plan and institutional priorities, and are held accountable for final performance outcomes as measured by student success, increased grant funding, alignment with state goals and the like.

A new funding model for NSHE was adopted in the 2013 Legislative session and consists of two components – a base formula driven by course completions and a performance pool driven by performance metrics that align with the goals of the State. The base formula allocates state resources (General Fund dollars) to teaching institutions based upon completed courses as measured by student credit hours. Student credit hours are weighted by discipline cluster in an expanded matrix that is cost informed and independently developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). Funding is determined by measuring completed course work, with funding set-aside to support small community colleges and the operations and maintenance of dedicated research space at UNLV and UNR. A fundamental premise of the new formula remains the campus retention of student fees and out of state tuition collected without offset to state general fund appropriations. Retention of student fees and tuition at UNR coupled with substantial student growth, estimated to reach a total of 20,900 students fall 2015, has been the primary driver of the additional funds to support faculty and infrastructure development. State support, when combined with student fee revenues generated by an institution, represents the total funding available to an institution in a given fiscal year.

The adoption of the NSHE’s performance pool came about as part of the funding formula study that considered methods for rewarding institutions for graduating students. The performance pool is based on a carve-out of state funds over an initial four-year implementation period. The carve-out percentage will be set aside and depending on an institution’s performance in a defined year they can “earn back” the set aside funds. An institution’s performance is measured based on seven metrics (two of which have sub-metrics for under-served populations). The majority of the metrics are based on the number of students graduating, including metrics for students graduating in defined populations (underserved populations, STEM, allied health, etc.). In addition, increasing sponsored project activity, transfer and articulation, and general efficiency are encouraged. Institutions that do not earn 100 percent of their performance funds in the first year of the performance cycle will be given the opportunity to earn back those funds in the second year of the cycle. UNR has earned 100% of these performance funds. (E-resource, Fiscal resources, NSHE fund form)

The funding formula governs the allocation of state funds to the institution as a whole, rather than to academic units and programs within the university. Internally, the university administration sets the non-grant portion of academic unit budgets in consultation with the deans and vice presidents. Tuition and fees received by the university are not returned directly to the units that generate them, but are part of the pool of funds available to the administration to meet the university’s operating expenses.

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Faculty salaries are the largest component of the state funds allocated to units. This sector of the budget is dictated by the number and rank of occupied faculty positions allocated to the unit in a given fiscal year. Tenure-line faculty positions in the School of Community Health Sciences are fully state-supported, so state funding for these positions supports teaching, research, and service activities. Classified staff positions are handled similarly in that the number of state-supported positions is determined by the university administration. Funds for staff positions are also allocated annually according to the job title and seniority of the incumbents. SCHS retains faculty vacancy savings and the funds are not swept centrally. This policy allows the unit to manage its budget and respond internally to added demand for instructional sections, faculty development, or other short-term needs. The university also allocates funds for general operations, including equipment, supplies, communications, travel, and student recruitment. Annual operating budgets are typically based on the budgets for previous years. For the first time in several years, the SCHS received a 2.5% increase to its operating funds this fiscal year.

Funds for graduate assistantships are provided by the Graduate School and Provost. The number of full-time equivalent assistantships allocated to each academic program is determined by the Provost and the Dean of the Graduate School and is typically based on prior number and is increased for additional new faculty positions. Graduate Assistant salaries were increased from 15,500 to 17,000 between Fiscal 2015 and Fiscal 2016 in an effort to improve competitiveness for top quality graduate students. In addition, the School of Community Health Sciences has the option to split fulltime assistantships into full- and half-time positions. The school receives 7.75% of indirect costs received by the university for faculty grants. Faculty in the school provide contracted services as well. Funds for teaching classes between semester are shared between the faculty member and the school. Further details of the school’s budget are outlined in section 1.6.b

Additional funds for instructional support and special projects are provided by UNR and the Division of Health Sciences on request from the school. At the beginning of each academic year, the school submits an estimate of the number of credit hours to be taught by temporary and contract faculty and a budget based on this estimate using a standard contract rate set by the university. These requests are circulated to UNR through the DHS office. These requests are routinely granted.

The DHS has developed a faculty development fund that faculty may apply to support conference presentations, attendance at faculty development events etc. These funds are matched by the SCHS. The school director may occasionally request other funds from the vice president. This process was used, for example, to equip a video conference facility that is used for meetings and distance education. More recently, funds have been requested and used to purchase kinesiology equipment.

b. Program budget statementThe school currently has an annual budget of approximately $2.78 million, including university funds, grants/contracts and indirect-cost recovery. University funds are the largest component, totaling approximately $1.9 million in the current fiscal year, including $1.38 million for faculty salaries, $87,500 for staff salaries, $193,340 for general operations, $138,000 for instructional support and $107,000 for graduate student stipends. Grant income in the last 5 years ranged from $162,856 in 2012-2012 to

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about $795,600 in 2014-15. Part of the variation is due to the departure of research intense faculty in 2011 and in 2014 the merger of the Center for Survey Research into the SCHS. Indirect cost receipts on faculty grants generate income averaging $2,100-9,600 per year. In addition, the university provided research startup funds to new faculty supporting the public health program. The school does not receive a direct appropriation from the state or a share of tuition and fees and does not have an endowment. Gifts are typically modest from individual donors with the exception of a Chinese Scientific Society gift in 2010-2012 (for visiting scholars) and one large gift in 2014-15. The endowments support the SCHS scholarship funds for both graduate and undergraduate students.

Table 1.6.1 Sources of Funds and Expenditures by Major Category, 2010-11 (FY11) to 2014-15 (FY15)1

2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15Source of FundsUniversity Funds 1,529,074 1,485,926 1,475,926 1,608,999 1,906,338Grants/Contracts 867,020 188,423 162,856 388,153 795,599Indirect Cost Recovery 9,617 3,239 2,130 3,666 6,247Endowment 900 1,610 1,490 3,515 2,646Gifts 24,826 31,726 1,225 3,375 51,827Extended Studies 12,117 16,081 29,783 27,133 35,078

Start-up funds (UNR) 10,000 15,000 10,800 44,000 36,334Total 2,477,480 1,742,005 1,682,985 2,075,466 2,782,242

ExpendituresFaculty Salaries & Benefits

1,428,337 1,130,292 1,226,931 1,431,891 1,709,277

Staff Salaries & Benefits

85,867 74,621 89,260 97,720 182,470

Operations 90,095 54,313 91,425 110,056 323,789Travel 4,096 1,935 8,628 6,775 33,181Student Support 123,957 88,829 102,483 153,064 193,902Tuition and fees (GA) 4,036 1,240 505 6556 10,774Contracted Faculty 55,461 71,324 66,770 85,065 150,843Start-up funds 10,000 15,000 10,800 44,000 36,334F&A 138,221 39,374 23,504 64,873 72,201Subcontracts 392,116 46,593 6,325Participant support 400 1,554Total 2,320,235 1,508,921 1,609,926 1,953,558 2,682,355

1. Reported as academic years July1, 20XX-June 30, 20XX.2. State funded benefits are paid from a centralized pool and are not included in the figures above.

Grant funded benefits follow a standard rate. (E-resource: Fiscal resources, fringe benefits )3. Extended studies: Shared fees from faculty teaching off-load (between semesters).4. Contracted faculty for both instruction and research5. Equipment included in operations

1

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UNR support for the program has increased substantially over the last 2 years to support the addition of new faculty. This follows 3 years of salary and operations reductions. In fiscal 2011, mandatory furloughs for all faculty and staff were implemented in addition to a 2.4% salary reduction. This was in response to the continued recession and downturn in state revenues. With a slowly improved financial status, the salary reduction was removed in FY 2014 and merit was awarded in FY 2015 and the furloughs were removed in FY 2016 (July 2015). Merit was not approved for the upcoming biennium but a cost of living increase of 2% will occur July 2016.

Funding from grants and contracts increased slowly from 2011-2013 but is now trending much higher. New faculty are contributing to this increase through more grant submissions and more senior faculty are receiving grant awards as the school gains more prestige in the community. Multi-year grants will contribute to more resources and funding from research activities. The addition of the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory and the Center for Survey Research has the potential to increase revenue as well. The laboratory is funded through the state with additional resources from grants and service contracts. (E-resource, Fiscal resources, NSPHL).

c. Collaboration and program budget. Not NA

d. Measureable objectives regarding fiscal resources Table 1.6.d Financial resources

Outcome Measures Target 2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

Goal 2 Objective 4a.Total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015 (2010-2011 baseline=$16,334/faculty FTE)Over three years (by 2018), the total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.

5% increase

from baseline

$10,191/FTE38%

decrease

from baseline

$19,191/FTE 17%

increase from baselin

e

$32,287/FTE98%

increase from

baseline

Goal 2 Objective 4b.Number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015Over three years (by 2018), the number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.

5% increase

from baseline

1.4/FTE 1.2/FTE

1.2/FTE

e. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plan

This criteria is met with commentary.Strengths:

The SCHS budget is increasing through both university and grant funding. The administration intends to support the growth to a School of Public Health and have committed to 13 new positions over the next 5 years.

Weaknesses and Plans: The grants and contracts funding is still not sufficient to support a robust research enterprise.

New faculty are already contributing and senior faculty are becoming active again. Additional space, staff and opportunities will be important to expand this financial resource.

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1.7 Faculty and Other Resources

a. Number of primary faculty employed by the program

Table 1.7.1 Headcount of Primary Faculty Anticipated

2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

2015-2016

Epidemiology 4 4 3 5Social Behavioral Health

6 5 5 7

Health Administration and Policy

4 5 5 5

Biostatistics 1 1 2 3Environmental Health 1 1 2Kinesiology 1 1

The headcount of primary faculty over the last three years takes into account the hiring of three new epidemiology faculty, one new health policy faculty, one new environmental health faculty and one new social behavioral health faculty. One social behavioral faculty member retired, one switched concentration to kinesiology and one epidemiologist moved to another position. The new category includes new primary faculty arriving fall of 2015 or spring of 2016. The headcount includes faculty who teach both undergraduate and graduate classes.

b. Number of faculty, students and SFRs, organized by concentration

Table 1.7.2 Faculty, Students and Student/Faculty Ratios by Department or Specialty Area

HC Primary Faculty

FTE PrimaryFaculty

HC Other Faculty

FTE OtherFaculty

HC Total Faculty

FTE TotalFaculty

HC Students

FTE Students

SFR by PrimaryFaculty FTE

SFR by TotalFaculty FTE

2013-2014Epidemiology: MPH

4 +2 4.6 3 .3 9 4.9 23 19.75 4.2 4

Social Behavioral Health: MPH

5 2.6 1 .2 6 2.8 22 16.5 6.3 5.8

Health Administration and Policy: MPH

5 2.8 0 0 5 2.8 5 4 1.43 1.43

BS: CHS 15 6.0 16 3.8 31 9.8 828 798.2 133 81.32014-2015Epidemiology: MPH

3+3 4.8 2 .2 8 5 23 17.5 3.63 3.5

Social Behavioral

5 2.6 2 .4 7 3 17 15 5.73 5

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Health: MPHHealth Administration and Policy: MPH

5 2.8 1 .1 6 2.9 11 9 3.2 3.1

Public Health: BS

15 6.5 34 6.5 49 13 965 933.33 143.5 71.7

Kinesiology: BS

16 See above

Included above

Included above

2015-2016Epidemiology: MPH

5+4 7.1 2 .2 11 7.3 25 22.5 3.13 3

Social Behavioral Health: MPH

7 3.5 2 .4 9 3.9 13 12 3.43 3.07

Health Administration and Policy: MPH

5 2.8 3 .3 8 3.1 10 9.5 3.33 3.05

Public Health: BS

19 7.6/2=3.8

26 4.1 45 7.9 643 Not available

Kinesiology: BS

20 .8+3.8=4.6

10 1.6 30 6.6 405 Not available

Primary faculty >.5 FTE to program. Calculated FTE as follows: each class=.1 FTE, research=.4 FTE and is considered as graduate directed public health research, service total is .2-.3 FTE divided by program emphasis. Service defined by emphasis (ie. Undergraduate director is given .2 FTE to undergraduate program).For students, 1 FTE = 1 student taking 9 or more semester-credits per semester.

c. Administrative and staff personnel The school has three full-time administrative assistants who provide support for all the programs in the School. Bonnie Coker, AA 4, is the assistant to the SCHS Director and has responsibility for maintaining the school’s financial accounts and personnel documents. In addition, she supervises administrative assistants and student staff. Jenna Hartman, AA 3, supports the undergraduate and graduate programs. In that role, she records the transactions of the graduate and undergraduate committees, schedules courses, assists with adjunct faculty identification and recruitment, helps with admission and maintains student and alumni records. Courtney Carter, AA 1, does general office work, manages travel, collects time sheets and shares duties with Ms. Hartman in maintaining the program website. Part-time student employees assist with general office work and miscellaneous assigned duties.

The Center for Research Survey is headed by a director, Dr. Veronica Dahir, .25 FTE. She supervises two full-time staff (an administrative and a program assistant) who monitor up to 20 graduate and undergraduate students in conducting survey work. This work supports contracts and research projects headed by CHS faculty and others.

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The Nevada State Public Health Laboratory (NSPHL) is headed by a Laboratory Director (TBD) and Administrator, Stephanie Van Hooser, who supervise 32 staff and oversee all the work of the laboratory in support of public health for the state. The NSPHL provides opportunities for research for both faculty and graduate students.

The Center of Program Evaluation is headed by Dr. Elizabeth Christiansen, 1 FTE, who provides .2 FTE time for SCHS program evaluation and graduate student advisement. Her primary mission is to provide evaluation and assessment services for university and community partners. She routinely provides research assistantships to our MPH students through her grants and contracts.

d. Space The Program has access to approximately 7600 sq. ft of administrative, faculty and research office space in the Lombardi Center on the main UNR campus. Details are noted in E-resource, Space Allocation and a brief description follows. Office and Administrative Space. Every full-time academic faculty member has a private office of approximately 130-150 sq. ft. with a telephone and networked personal computer with standard software. An administrative suite totaling 1100 sq. ft. includes offices for the school director, three administrative assistants and part-time student workers, and a staff workroom. A 400 sq. ft. conference room with computer projection and video-conferencing capabilities is available for meetings and seminars. UNR IT provides timely administrative support for all technology issues including during emergencies.

Research Space. Three areas are available in the Lombardi Center for sponsored research projects. These areas typically provide work space for grant-supported graduate assistants and secured storage for research projects. In addition to the space in the Lombardi building, two affiliated centers have additional space on campus. The Center for Program Evaluation has two offices in the Annex XXX near the medical school and the Center for Survey Research occupies approximately 2000 sq.ft.in Sarah Fleishman building on the southern part of the main campus. Additional research space (approx. 1500 sq ft) is located in the Applied Research Facility and these laboratories are described below in section 1.6.e.

Classroom Space. SCHS has access to a variety of classrooms across campus through central scheduling. The Lombardi classrooms are usually occupied with SCHS classes but other colleges use them as well. Classrooms throughout campus are “smart classrooms” equipped with networked computers connected to the internet, LCD projectors and document cameras. With the growth in students, there are sufficient classrooms but scheduling must be at relatively unpopular times of the day. There is a concerted effort by UNR administration to construct a policy that will spread classes throughout the 5 day week and provide opportunities for weekend classes as well. Many graduate courses are offered in the evening to meet the needs of working professionals, and have been scheduled throughout campus. The school currently does not have its own instructional computer laboratory, but several such facilities are available on campus and are utilized for epidemiology and biostatistics courses

Student Areas. State-supported graduate assistants have assigned carrels in a shared 385 sq. ft. office with 11 workstations. No other dedicated work space is available for graduate students who are not employed as research or teaching assistants. A common area (approximately 850 sq. ft.) with tables and

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chairs is provided on the second floor of the building, and students have very convenient access to the Joe Crowley Student Union, which offers study space, restaurants, a bookstore and a convenience store, and to the IGT-Matheson Knowledge Center that has extensive areas for study and research.

The Program’s current space in the Lombardi Center is at capacity. There are no more faculty offices available and faculty meetings now take place at the JCSU to accommodate the increase in faculty numbers. Research offices were converted to faculty offices. More graduate student workspace and a computer teaching lab are needed. Approximately 2800 sq. ft. of space is being renovated for faculty offices and research space in the Savitt Building in the medical school complex and will be available by January 2016.

e. Laboratory space and special equipmentLaboratory space is available in the Lombardi Center and in the adjacent Applied Research Facility (ARF). A human subjects facility used for clinical research is located on the ground floor of the Lombardi building. This laboratory is approximately 1200 sq. ft., including a private room for interviewing or examinations, and is equipped with clinical manipulation tables, a GE Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometer for measuring body composition, a Precor treadmill, and a Cosmed K4b2 portable metabolic system. An exercise physiology laboratory, also located in Lombardi, is used primarily for undergraduate teaching. A 349 sq. ft. lab on the 2nd floor of Lombardi houses facilities for statistical data analysis used by the Nevada Center for Health Statistics and Informatics. The lab has 6 computer work stations and a 16 TB memory size data analysis server.In the ARF the SCHS controls a 1000 sq. ft. main research laboratory (ARF 315) and a 150 sq. ft. ancillary lab (ARF 111) that support activities relating to translational medicine, environmental and cellular physiology, histopathology, molecular biology, microscopy, environmental toxicology, and cell / tissue culture. Specialized equipment is available for use by researchers in the school, the Division of Health Sciences, and other researchers in the UNR community, on a collaborative basis. (E-resource: Faculty Research, Environmental Health Laboratory)

ARF 328 and 330 are laboratory spaces for survey research and analysis of statistical data occupied by the Nevada Center for Health Statistics and Informatics. This includes a total of 410 sq. ft. used for data collection and a survey lab with 4 workstations equipped with PCs and software for Computer Assisted Telephone Interview functions.

f. Computer facilities and resourcesAll full-time administrators, faculty and staff have their own dedicated, networked computer workstations. Two high-speed networked printers are available in the Lombardi Building and most faculty members also have local printers. All faculty and staff computers are connected to the Internet and are equipped with standard software for communication, word processing and data analysis. The university has site licenses for numerous software packages for such specialized tasks as statistical analysis, and for general office use, and these are available for faculty, staff and students at no or reduced cost. In addition, computing capacity has been improved through the addition of secured servers and access to HIPPA compliant systems are available through the University of Nevada School of Medicine. The university also provides free email service to employees and students.

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Computing facilities are available to students in several locations on campus. Graduate research and teaching assistants have access to a student office with 11 networked workstations on the second floor of the Lombardi Building. Graduate assistants working on research projects have access to additional computers in faculty research offices and laboratories. In addition to the school’s on-site facilities, a fully equipped, state-of-the-art computer laboratory is available to students in the adjacent IGT-Matheson Knowledge Center. All computers on the UNR domain require a login and can connect to the campus network by cable or wireless. Computers vary from basic desktop workstations and checkout laptops to high-end systems for research and special projects. All computers supported by the campus IT staff are purchased through approved vendors, run the latest operating systems and security software, and receive regular maintenance. Faculty, staff and administration office computers are available through the department or campus replacement program. Routine computer replacement was on hiatus for 5 years during the recession but has recently been renewed.

All students, faculty, staff, administration and guests have access to standard IT user support through a centralized Help Desk in the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center. The Help Desk is available by phone, email and a walk-up counter. Service requests that cannot be resolved immediately are recorded and maintained in an electronic work order system. Information on IT supported systems and user support, plus self-help documentation is available on the UNR IT website at http://www.it.unr.edu

g. Library/information resources The Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center is uniquely positioned as one of the most technologically advanced university libraries in the country, providing the discovery, acquisition, and access to diverse forms of knowledge that the university’s students and faculty need. Building highlights include: automated book retrieval system; reading rooms and quiet study-areas; computing laboratories and large format printing; wireless network and computer access throughout; smart classrooms and conference rooms; coffee shops and group study areas.The collection contains more than 1 million volumes of books and journals, 23,000-plus e-journals and more than 50,000 e-books. Plus, hundreds of general and specialized research databases available online. More specifically, the collection boasts more than 600 electronic journal subscriptions relating to public health and many, many more general health sciences titles. The University of Nevada Savitt Medical Library (located just north of the school) has designated funds with which to purchase new titles in public health.

Recognizing the synergy between information and technology, the Knowledge Center has consolidated library services, research, and computing help into the second floor atrium. The Library & Research Services counter pulls together reference, circulation, electronic reserves, and document delivery services. The Computing Help Desk staff tackles software and hardware problems, wireless access, and computing related questions generally.

The circular @One desk sits in the middle of first floor with both library and technical staff available to field any question that a computer lab user might have. It functions as a hub for poster printing and laminating, general software assistance, and DataWorks Lab support. A variety of audio/vidio and

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computing equipment is available for checkout to UNR students, faculty, and staff in the @One Digital Media Checkout office. Digital video and still cameras, lighting kits, tripods, audio recorders, laptops, and digital projectors are only a few of the dozens of items available. Digital Media Services supports the Dynamic Media Lab and the videoconference room located in @One. The Multimedia Center has a circulating collection of approximately 15,000 videos, as well as music CDs and audio-books

Currently enrolled UNR students, faculty or staff members are eligible for off-campus access to licensed resources upon providing necessary identification. Wireless network and computer access is available throughout the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center.

h. Other resourcesThe Nevada State Public Health Laboratory is administratively associated with the SCHS. It is a 18,888 sq ft facility with staff, equipment, and space to support the laboratory needs of public health throughout Nevada. Current programs include bio-surveillance, clinical lab studies, newborn screening, disease outbreak investigation support, and other work that supports the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health and local health districts. There is great potential for collaborative research with the Lab and this will be developed.

i. Assessing the adequacy of resources

Table 1.6.m. Selected Outcome Measures for Program ResourcesOutcome Measures Targe

t2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015

Goal 2 Objective 4a.Total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015 (2010-2011 baseline=$16,334/faculty FTE)Over three years (by 2018), the total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.

$10,191/FTE38%

decrease from

baseline

$19,121/FTE17%

increase from

baseline

$32,287/FTE98%

increase from

baseline

j. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans

This criteria is met with commentary.Strengths:

The budget is increasing to support expansion of the SCHS. Administration is very positive about the plan to grow to a School of Public Health and many faculty positions are being added.

The laboratories are well equipped and computer technology readily available.Weaknesses:

The school is adding needed faculty but does not have the space to support this growth. There is insufficient office and research space to support the expanding research enterprise.

Plans: When the new Recreation and Wellness Center is built, additional space in Lombardi will be

available for the school. This space is best utilized by the undergraduate kinesiology program for expansion of facilities for teaching and research. Lombardi does not provide an ideal lay out to support public health program growth.

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In concert with the vice president of DHS and UNR president, a plan is being proposed to build a new structure to house most of the SCHS exclusive of the kinesiology program. Ideally, the new building will address the aging issues of the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory as well location of all the programs of the SCHS back into one site. Additional resources such as a new student computer lab, survey research laboratory, research and graduate student space will be part of the overall plan.

1.8 Diversity

a. Incorporation of diversity elements i. Under-represented populations

SCHS has defined under-represented populations in the program based on population demographics and public health workforce needs.

The undergraduate program collects demographic (ie. Race/ethnicity and gender) information. It is difficult for SCHS to track students due to the large number, over 1000, and movement of students in and out of the major. Figures are reported for the Division of Health Sciences as a whole and also specifically for CHS (Figure 1) Under-represented populations include Hispanic (20% of the northern Nevada population), Black (8%), Alaskan Native (3%), and males (specifically within public health, nursing and social work).

Figure 1. (based on UNR 2011 data)

ETHNICITY Number (total 1863) Percentage in DHS pop. CHS (not exclusive)Alaskan Native 61 3.27% 2%Pacific Islander 58 3.11% 3%Asian 186 9.98% 10%Black 104 5.58% 7%Hispanic 295 15.83% 11.4%Undeclared 13 0.70%Caucasian 1391 74.66% 75%GENDERMale 367 20% 36%Female 1496 80% 64%CHS MAJORS 642 34%

The Graduate MPH program identified 5 target populations as under-represented in 2011. These include Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Black, First generation college attendees, and rural populations. These populations were selected based on northern Nevada demographics and Nevada specific public health needs. In 2011 Latino/Hispanic persons represented 20% of population, Native American/Alaskan natives 2.4%, and Blacks 1.8%. 34.5% of UNR freshman were first time college attendees and represented a broad group of more diverse students that included students from lower socioeconomic groups and those from rural/frontier Nevada population. These populations are considered to be underserved for all health professions including public health. Faculty targets benchmarked community demographics representative of the workforce in 2011 as an initial goal.

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In 2015, a committee updated the diversity populations to include faculty, graduate and undergraduate students who identify as Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, and African American. In addition, the frequency distribution of first generation college students will be measured for undergraduate and graduate students. Goals were established based on population demographics and public health needs and prior data indicating reasonable targets. We decided on the measurement of first generation college goers used by UNR as a surrogate for geographic disparities. (More information from the Center for Cultural Diversity Office: http://www.unr.edu/cultural-diversity/programs-and-services/annual-reports

ii. Goals for achieving diversity and cultural competence Goals for achieving diversity and cultural competence within the SCHS include:

1. Recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and staff representative of women, under-represented minorities and other diverse groups in Northern Nevada.

2. Retaining and graduating diverse undergraduate students within the SCHS majors

3. Recruiting and graduating diverse graduate students in the MPH emphases

4. Ensuring that students are exposed to courses that explore cultural, global, ethical, professional, and spiritual domains

5. Participating in experiences that are in diverse communities or address the needs of diverse communities.

6. Conducting research that addresses the area of diversity in many settings.

These goals operationalize the UNR strategic plan to create a more diverse community on campus that is engaged and aware of the benefits of attaining cultural competence. The UNR strategic plan explicitly discusses goals and measurements for diversity on campus. UNR Strategic Goals:

2014 2021Diversity of academic faculty

21% 25%

Goal 2: Recruit a high-achieving, diverse student body and provide access and a clear path to graduation. • Provide scholarships to academically meritorious students including those with financial need. • Increase the diversity of the student body. • Move from emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) to a designated HSI. • Provide University housing and facilities that promote a culture of learning and a sense of community.

Goal 2 Metrics 2014 20216-year graduation rate 54.8% 60.8%National Merit, Achievement, Hispanic 49 60National Hispanic Scholars 4 50Diversity of undergraduate student body 36% 45%

Goal 3: Provide high-quality graduate programs taught by research-active faculty. • Increase the number of graduate teaching and research assistantships. • Strategically develop new PhD programs.

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• Increase diversity of graduate students.

Goal 3 Metrics 2014 2021Graduate Teaching Assistant lines at UNR

476 700

PhD enrollment at UNR 789 1,000Diversity of graduate students at UNR

21% 25%

iii. Policies to support diversity The Nevada System of Higher Education’s (NSHE) Board of Regents sets policies for all the universities, colleges, and community colleges within Nevada. There is a strong policy that prohibits sexual harassment and discrimination that was adopted and is reviewed and measured on a system wide basis. The University of Nevada Reno implements these policies and has a well-defined process for training faculty and staff, investigating and enforcing compliance. Harassment can be cause for termination. http://www.unr.edu/eotix/sexual-harassment-policyThe NSHE and UNR have an affirmative action plan that is updated and reaffirmed annually. The policies in the plan reflect both non-discrimination and affirmative action in supporting a diverse campus environment.

http://www.unr.edu/drc/equal-access-policies/affirmative-action-policy

For example, to support diversity in all its forms, a non-discrimination statement is seen on all recruitment materials. EEO/AA Statements to be included in all print and jobs.unr.edu web announcements: “The University of Nevada, Reno is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action in recruitment of its students and employees and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, creed, national origin, veteran status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or gender expression. The University of Nevada employs only United States citizens and aliens lawfully authorized to work in the United States. Women, under-represented groups, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.”

Through full time administrative support and grievance processes, the policy is enacted and upheld. These policies pertain to both students and faculty.

Within the SCHS, statements in the mission, values and vision support diversity. In the annual evaluation process of faculty, the professionalism section measures the professional nature of relationships within the school and promotes respect and tolerance. At present, this section does not impact the overall evaluation but is used during evaluation meetings with the director to consider corrective plans.

To further establish an environment that respects diversity, course syllabi include statements that promote a tolerant and respectful atmosphere in the classroom. (E-resource: syllabi)

iv. Policies that support a climate for working and learning in a diverse setting. In addition to the UNR strategic goals and subsequent policies, the school is supported in its diversity efforts by various programs throughout the university and through the UNR commitment to diversity.

Three programs on campus focus on diversity and offer undergraduate majors or minors, master’s degrees, certificates, or specialization. The Gender, Race, and Identity Program is dedicated to assuring

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that UNR students develop a deep understanding of the impact of race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and gender on their identities, as well as their society. This Program has several core faculty and over 30 affiliate faculty drawn from a diverse field of departments from a number of faculties on campus. Three members of our school (Devereux, Cook and Sugar) are Faculty Affiliates of this program. Other programs include the Developmental Disabilities Program and Women’s Studies program.

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v. Building competency in diversity and cultural considerations. Through measurement objectives, the curriculum is reviewed to identify content that addresses diversity and cultural considerations. Faculty service and research is also addressed in this goal (85% of faculty will address diversity issues in their work). In addition, the internship sites are reviewed with a goal of placing 45% of students in sites that serve or involve diverse populations. The CHS support opportunities for working and learning in other countries including courses in Kenya, South Africa, Bangladesh, Turkey, and China and has committed to promoting international collaboration.

vi. Assuring a diverse faculty Recruitment starts with placement of advertisements for positions in diverse sources, includes a diversity target in recruitment pools has a diversity representative in each search committee, and promotes successful diversity hires through administrative support. Within the SCHS, search committee chairs and the diversity representative (advocate) promote inclusion of diversity in the pool of candidates by conducting Skype interviews that provide more opportunity to explore all aspects of a candidate’s application. From the initial Skye, decisions about campus visits always include a conversation about the inclusion of diverse candidates.

http://www.unr.edu/Documents/education/college/accreditation/4recruitment-diverse.pdf

Specific retention practices have been suggested by UNR’s Chief Diversity Officer. One issue that emerged from faculty who were looking at positions at UNR was the lack of identifiable “communities” for under-represented minorities. The Officer helped identify campus networks in support of faculty from diverse backgrounds to help link new faculty with existing communities.

Within the SCHS, an official mentoring project has been proposed for years. Now that faculty have reached a critical mass, this program will be implemented to help transition faculty into their new role and their new environment.

vii. Assuring a diverse staff

Staff policies are set by the State of Nevada and are reflected in the classified staff recruitment and hiring documents. Individual institutions and schools have very little input other than participation in search committees to hire staff.

UNR and SCHS policies on supporting a diverse campus apply to all the classified and program assistant staff but procedures involving staff are governed by the State. The Human Resources department is split between faculty and classified personnel. The classified HR department assists with all the tasks needed to recruit, develop, promote and retain staff and offer classes for supervisors.

Within the SCHS, staff are recognized in the bylaws as an essential part of the school and are treated with respect. Although the process for promotion is regulated by the state, supervisors can initiate the process and this is an important aspect of retention.

viii. Assuring a diverse student body. Implementation of the strategic plan for enhancing diversity at UNR involves the whole campus community. For undergraduate students, Student Services has plans and many programs that promote all aspects of creating a diverse community on campus. (http://www.unr.edu/student-services/resources-and-downloads/comittment-to-diversity) . The TRIO

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program, the McNair’s scholar program and Upward Bound are just a few programs that actively engage diverse students to improve their success. The SCHS participates in Upward Bound and faculty have mentored McNair scholars.

Within the SCHS, the diversity plan includes specific activities to create a diverse student body for both undergraduate and graduate students. It starts with outreach to a local high school, Reed High School, to present public health topics to a selected group of students who participate in the HOPE academy, a magnet program for health careers. Students are diverse and often from families where higher education has never been a priority. In addition, work with the community colleges has resulted in the development of an AA degree for Community Health Sciences that seamlessly melds with the curriculum at UNR. These students are more diverse than the incoming UNR students. Activities are planned on campus to highlight cultural diversity and increase awareness. Retention is greatly facilitated by the UNR Center for Student Cultural Diversity (the Center) where a myriad of resources support students as they move through their years of school. Faculty identify promising undergraduate students and provide important one-on-one advisement to encourage them to apply to graduate school. The SCHS undergraduate program is a major source of MPH students.

For graduate students, recruitment activities include attendance at graduate fairs and conferences. In particular, California has more diversity than Nevada and has been the primary area for recruitment. The Community Advisory Board created a scholarship 3 years ago for a diverse student to help with recruitment. Wording on the GRE admission requirement was changed in response to diverse students stating that taking and passing the GRE was one of their greatest concerns. It now requires that students take the GRE, and it is hoped that the GRE performance climbs, but the admission committee looks at other factors as well. On campus, the new GradFIT program, “Fully Inclusive Training for Diverse Graduate Students” addresses the needs of diverse graduate students in order to prepare them for success. SCHS faculty met with a few students this year and intends to become a regular part of this program.

Retention is assisted by advisement and appropriate referral to resources like the Center. In syllabi, reference to the Math and Writing Centers is standard and students are encouraged to ask their professors for assistance. Further, respect and tolerance are expectations that are included in syllabi and are addressed by faculty. This contributes to an environment that supports diverse student success.

http://www.unr.edu/gradfit

ix. Evaluation of diversity efforts UNR requires an annual report on the diversity goals of each unit and how they are being met. This provides the SCHS a way to evaluate their goals and objectives. (E-resource: Diversity: MPH diversity plan ).The goals and objective measures are reviewed and discussed and faculty comment on ways to improve our statistics. During occasional Community Advisory Board meetings, members are asked to review our measures and participate in identifying new or existing topics we should be addressing to improve the diversity of our school.

In Nevada, the demographics show a less diverse population, especially in northern Nevada, so the diversity goals are often aspirational. To address this, one component of the plan is increasing the number of graduate student recruitment sites to include out-of-state sites that have a more diverse

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student body. The number of students who come to the table, the number of inquiries resulting from the contact, and the number of students who fill out admission forms helps determine if that site will be included in subsequent years. Determining the success of these measures is important in identifying what is most efficient and cost effective and this is done annually in the graduate committee. Admission information identified that having more graduate assistantships targeted for diverse students resulted in the enrollment of more qualified students. This strategy will be continued. The Community Advisory Board scholarship helped recruit a diverse, qualified student and a plan to add more scholarships is in process.

http://www.unr.edu/cultural-diversity/programs-and-services/annual-reports

b. Implementation of diversity efforts

The SCHS values diversity within its students, faculty, and staff. The latest mission/values statement (approved in fall 2015) includes a number of statements that reference diversity, inclusiveness, and cultural competence.

School’s Vision: Foster equitable and healthy communities. We achieve this vision through these values:

Advancing knowledge Embracing diversity Demonstrating integrity Inspiring learning Succeeding through collaboration

Description of values:Embracing Diversity: We value the backgrounds and experiences of our students, faculty, and staff as partners with diverse communities to reduce disparities and promote equal opportunities to achieve optimal health. Demonstrating Integrity: We strive in all endeavors to consistently demonstrate honesty, fairness, and respect to promote mutual trust and understanding.

Diversity issues are interspersed throughout the curriculum and the MPH curriculum addresses the majority of the ASPPH competencies in diversity and culture (60% of the competencies in the MPH core and 100% in the Social and Behavioral Health specialty area). For undergraduate students, CHS 360, Disabilities Issues, has been described as a “life changer” for its impact on the awareness of students to the many different barriers facing people with disabilities. CHS 345, Ethics and Professionalism in Public Health provides an interactive curriculum exploring cultural issues, discrimination and ethical dilemmas. These are required courses for the major. Many other courses focus on diversity issues, including world health, cultural diversity, rural health issues, and HIV/AIDS and are offered as 400/600 classes for both undergraduate and graduate students.

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The undergraduate and graduate committees provide important suggestions for activities to promote diversity. This has included changes in competencies measures (e.g., adding more diversity competencies to core MPH courses), changes in recruitment sites to enhance diverse student recruitments, and changes in how faculty conduct classes (role of explicitly stating student and faculty expectations as they pertain to professional behavior).

The internship experience for both graduates and undergraduates includes projects and agencies that serve minority or underserved populations. Examples of these placements include working at NN HOPES an FQHC, ACCEPT, Disabled Sports, Walker River Diabetes Program (native American) and the Children’s Cabinet serving vulnerable children. Faculty are measured on including diversity topics in their classes and this is demonstrated in the curriculum map. (See Criteria 2.8 and 2.6 for curricular mapping to diversity competencies).

Measurements for faculty, staff, and student diversity have shown improvement over the last three years. One difficulty in meeting faculty measures is the lack of diversity in northern Nevada. We continue to concentrate on the hiring of Latino and American Indian faculty and students as that demographic is increasing in our area.

c. Development of diversity plans and policies

UNR has had a diversity plan for many years and reports to the NSHE Board of Regents on an ongoing basis. The plan is updated during UNR Strategic planning that involves the entire campus community. A significant part of the UNR diversity plan was achieved when the Center for Student Cultural Diversity was established to coordinate efforts to improve student diversity and achievement for UNR. As a centralized resource, the Center has published an annual diversity report since 2009 and includes reports from the SCHS. Although diversity has always been a strong force within the SCHS in recruitment, teaching, research and service, a coordinated plan was not created prior to 2011.

The 2011 SCHS diversity plan was developed by a committee composed of the Graduate director, SCHS director and a graduate student, in response to CEPH concerns at the initial accreditation visit. The committee developed a plan that fit the goals and measurements that had already been created with assistance from the Director of the Center for Student Cultural Diversity. The plan was approved by the faculty and implementation has begun. This initial plan only included the MPH program and was further expanded to officially include the undergraduate students in 2015 although inclusion of undergraduate students in diversity activities has been well-documented since 2011. The Community Advisory board helped craft the most recent diversity measures and participated in the final approval process in fall 2015 during the faculty retreat. Graduate students have been an important voice in ensuring that the diversity plan is appropriate and updated.

d. Monitoring the diversity plan

The annual diversity report is compiled by the SCHS director and shared with the faculty during faculty meetings. This report reviews diversity targets (students and faculty) and discusses the activities that have been undertaken to improve diversity over the last year. Discussion of relevant issues (ie. faculty

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search changes, internship site placements, professionalism in the classroom) occurs at the meeting and opportunities identified to improve diversity outcomes or processes. The graduate committee often reviews strategies to recruit a more diverse MPH group. These conversations help identify successful activities from unsuccessful ones and help the plan/policies change as needed to keep on track with SCHS goals. The plan is officially reviewed and edited, including measurements, approximately every two years by an ad hoc committee of faculty and students and suggested changes must be voted on by the entire faculty. The last committee suggested revisions to the diversity measurements and changes in our vision and values statement.

e. Evaluating success in achieving a diverse complement of faculty, staff and students

Template 1.8.1. Summary Data for Faculty, Students and/or Staff

Category/Definition Method of Collection

Data Source Target 2012-2013

2013-2014

Target 2014-2015*

Latino: Undergraduate Self-report Institutional Analysis

11% 18% 20% 18%

Graduate Self-report Admissions form 20% 4% 8% 20% 15%Faculty Self-report Survey 20% 6% 6% 20% 5%

African American: Undergraduate

Self-report Institutional Analysis

7% 6% 10% 6%

Graduate Self-report Admissions form 5% 4% 3% 5% 2%Faculty Self-report Survey 0% 0% 5% 0%

American Indian/Alaskan native: Undergraduate

Self-report Institutional Analysis

2% 1% 5% 1%

Graduate Self-report Admissions form 3% 4% 3% 3% 2%Faculty Self-report Survey 0% 0% 3% 0%

First Generation College: Undergraduate

Self-report Institutional Analysis

40%

Graduate Self-report Admissions form 8% 22% 30% 20%Women faculty Self-report Survey 54% 61% 59% -- 60%Women Staff Self-report Survey 46% 100% 100% -- 100%

Minority faculty Self-report Survey 16% 22% 20% -- 25%Minority Staff Self-report Survey 21% 0% 0% -- 0%

*New targets established in 2014-2015.

Additional diversity measurements: Table 1.8.e

Outcome Measures Target 2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

Goal 1: “To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers, educators and leaders.”1c. By 2015, historically underrepresented racial/ethnic populations will comprise 10% of the students accepted to the MPH program.

By 201510% 46% 18% 36%

20% of MPH applicant pool will include students representative of target diversity groups (Latino, African American, Native American/Alaska Native, first generation college).

(New)By 2018

20%-- -- 36%

Goal 5: “To expose students to diversity in multiple venues.”

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1. (2015) Faculty and staff are representative of women, underrepresented minority, and other diverse groups in the relevant labor markets by 2015. Women: Faculty 54% Staff: 46% Minority: Faculty 16% Staff 21%

By 2015 See Template

1.8.1.

See Template 1.8.1.

See Template 1.8.1.

(2018) faculty and student populations will meet diversity goals as follows:

Faculty: 20% Latino , 5% African American, and 3% Native American/Alaska NativeGrad students: 20% Latino, 5% African American, 3 % Native American/Alaska Native, 30% first generation college

Undergraduate students: 20% Latino, 10% African American, 5% Native American/Alaska native, 30% first generation college

(New)By 2018

See Template

1.8.1.

See Template 1.8.1.

See Template 1.8.1.

2. There will be 1 new effort to recruit underrepresented populations (either locally or outside of local market) for the MPH program per year.

Met Met Met

5 SCHS will meet all diversity requirements for all searches at the first report.

100% 100% 100%

6 55% of MPH applicants will report experience working with underrepresented populations.

63% 71% 64%

7 85% of faculty address issues affecting underrepresented populations in their work.

80% 93% 88%

f. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans This criteria is met

Strengths: The diversity plan has guided efforts and resources to increase the emphasis on diversity. UNR

has a robust diversity plan that provides assistance to the school to help with programs and ideas.

The student body is becoming increasingly diverse. Faculty recruitments are subject to diversity targets and search committee strive to bring in a

diverse pool of candidates.Weaknesses and Plans:

Nevada is not diverse except for a growing Hispanic population. That has influenced the need to recruit out of state and has impacted faculty recruitment due to the lack of supportive networks. The SCHS continues to assess barriers to enrollment and barriers for successful recruitment of faculty.

Increasing the number of scholarships to support diverse candidates for our programs is a goal.

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2.0 Instructional Programs

2.1 Degree Offerings, all degrees.

a. An instructional matrix presenting all of the program’s degree programs

Table 2.1.1. Instructional Matrix – Degrees & SpecializationsAcademic Professional

Bachelors DegreesSpecialization/Concentration/Focus Area Degree*Public Health BSKinesiology BS

Masters DegreesSpecialization/Concentration/Focus Area Degree*Epidemiology MPHSocial Behavioral Health MPHHealth Administration and Policy MPH

Joint Degrees2nd (non-public health) area Degree*MD MD/MPHMSN MSN/MPH

b. Catalog and official publications

The Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health Sciences offers two specialization areas, Public Health and Kinesiology. Both of the degrees include core and elective courses that introduce broad public health concepts as well as more specialized material. The BS degree requires 120 credits and includes a practicum experience. The catalog explaining the degree programs and instructional matrix with course requirements and descriptions is found at:

Public Health emphasis: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5721Website information: http://dhs.unr.edu/Documents/dhs/chs/academics/CHS-Public-Health-Major-2014.pdf

Kinesiology emphasis: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5448Website information: http://dhs.unr.edu/Documents/dhs/chs/academics/CHS-Kinesiology-Major-2014.pdf

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The MPH degrees are offered in three specializations, Epidemiology, Social and Behavioral Health and the newer Health Administration and Policy specialization. The MPH in Biostatistics has been approved but has not yet enrolled any students. Two joint degrees in nursing and medicine are offered that require choosing one MPH emphasis. The catalog explaining these degree programs with course lists and course descriptions can be found at:

MPH degrees: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_entity.php?catoid=12&ent_oid=1207MD/MPH: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5474MSN/MPH: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5466

More detailed information about the courses and proposed course sequencing can be found on the CHS website: http://dhs.unr.edu/chs/academics/mph/handbook

c. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.

This criterion is met.

Strengths: The bachelor’s degree is a long standing program with a strong public health focus. The splitting

of the degrees has provided important specialization among students who want to pursue more exercise science based activities.

The catalog is now fully online and provides a readily available source of information for students. It is update annually.

Weaknesses and Plans: The curriculum is undergoing a fundamental change to redefine the undergraduate core

curriculum based on learning outcomes. This will be fully implemented in fall of 2016. This has required substantial faculty work to re-do syllabi, apply for approval from the core board, and find courses that fulfill all the requirements. When implemented there will be more work to refine and improve courses and sequencing.

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2.2 Program Length. An MPH degree program or equivalent professional master’s degree must be at least 42 semester-credit units in length.

a. Definition of a credit with regard to classroom/contact hours. The student credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:(1) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction (defined as a nominal 50 minute classroom hour) and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks ‐ ‐for one semester hour of credit or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or(2) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours. The amount of academic credit awarded for such other academic activities is specified in UAM 6,081. (UNR Administrative Manual).

http://www.unr.edu/administrative-manual/6000-6999-curricula-teaching-research/courses-and-curricula/6082-definition-of-student-credit-hour

Therefore, a course with 3 hours of lecture per week during a 15-16 week semester is equated with 3 student credit hours.

b. Minimum degree requirements for all professional public health master’s degree. The MPH degree requires 18 semester credits of core courses, 6 credits of practicum, 3 credits for the capstone/culminating experience, and 6 credits of elective courses. Each specialization requires 12 credits in required courses specific to the discipline. Each MPH degree requires 45 credits and conforms to accepted standards regarding program length and objectives of the credentials. Students in the dual MD/MPH program must choose to complete one of the 3 specializations and complete the required 45 credit components with the practicum cross linked into the MD credits.

c. Number of professional public health master’s degrees awarded for fewer than 42 semester credit units, or equivalent, over each of the last three years.

There were no MPH degrees awarded for fewer than 45 credits over the last three years. d. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.

This criterion is met. Strengths:

The curriculum is 45 credits with each course accounting for 3 semesters except for the internship that is 6 credits.

Weaknesses and Plans:

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There are limited electives for students as noted by the students. The faculty believe that even fewer electives may be reasonable (especially for Health Administration and Policy) to ensure that graduates have the necessary skills to be successful.

2.3 Public Health Core Knowledge.

a. Attaining fundamental knowledge in core competenciesTable 2.3.1 Required Courses Addressing Public Health Core Knowledge Areas for MPH Degree

Core Knowledge Area Course Number & Title Credits

Biostatistics CHS 780 Biostatistics in Public Health 3

Epidemiology CHS 712 Epidemiology in Public Health 3

Environmental Health Sciences CHS 725 Health and the Environment 3

Social & Behavioral Sciences CHS 701 Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Health

3

Health Services Administration CHS 755 Health Policy and Administration 3

In addition, all MPH students are required to complete CHS 700, Research Methods in Public Health, CHS 798 MPH Internship, and CHS 796 MPH Capstone.

b. Assessment of the the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.

This criterion is met.

Strengths: There is a well-established core curriculum that covers the fundamental competencies in basic

public health knowledge. All specializations must take these core courses. The additional requirement of CHS 700 helps ground students in core research competencies

prior to taking other classes.

Weaknesses and Plans: Competencies are revised regularly but lag behind needs assessment data. Better and regular

communication between the faculty doing the needs assessments and the core faculty will improve the relevance of the core.

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2.4 Practical Skills.

a. Description of the program’s policies and procedures regarding practice placements

Practical public health skill development is an integral part of the MPH program, regardless of program concentration, requiring 270 hours (6 credit hours) of professional work experience in a public health agency (clerical-level work is not accepted). While students are encouraged to take these six credits in two consecutive semesters (3 credits), the program is flexible regarding the time frame in which students complete the internship, provided that 45 hours of internship coincide with each credit. Internship participation is required for all MPH students. Students are responsible for locating and arranging their own internship experience, with support from their faculty advisor and the internship coordinator.

Faculty advisors and the internship coordinator maintain ongoing communication with former site preceptors to facilitate new student placements and partnerships in state and local health departments and community agencies, and continuously work to foster new community relationships with potential preceptors in order to develop further student opportunities. Potential internship preceptor/project recruitment letters are sent out to community partners during the fall semester each year. Responses from this recruitment solicitation are compiled into a list that is communicated to MPH students at the MPH internship orientation meeting in November of each year. The SCHS maintains a strong network of preceptors that include past preceptors of MPH students, past preceptors of undergraduate field studies students, and potential new preceptors that have shown an interest in mentoring our students. Preceptors are approved by the faculty advisor and the internship coordinator. Preceptor qualifications are based on position in the organization and extent of public health background, including number of years in practice as well as educational degrees earned.

Effective communication and orientation to the internship process is essential to the ongoing success of the program. Orientation and support of preceptors to the internship process is conducted in the following ways:

1. Formal written communication about the background and goals of the internship program during the preceptor/project recruitment process

2. During the MPH student contracts meeting in which the student, internship coordinator, preceptor, and faculty advisor review the roles and responsibilities of each team member to the success of the internship (acknowledged through the signing of the MPH Internship Roles and Responsibilities document by all parties) as well as review the guidelines for successful completion of the internship (acknowledged through the signing of the MPH Internship Contracts Meeting Acknowledgement)

3. During a Midterm Student Site Visit in which successes and challenges of the internship are discussed in a team-based approach

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4. During ongoing online communications with the internship coordinator, student, and faculty advisor throughout the internship process

Working with their faculty advisor and the internship coordinator, students begin planning for the internship at least six months before the desired start date by examining interests, program concentration, competencies, and goals for the internship. The internship coordinator and students locate sites and preceptors based on all of these factors. Once a site and preceptor are arranged, the student completes: the MPH Internship Agreement (similar to a Memorandum of Understanding) and the Student Learning Contract outlining student goals, competencies to be addressed, and scope of work for the internship (project management plan). Upon student completion of these documents, it is reviewed and signed by the preceptor, faculty advisor, and internship coordinator to ensure common understanding among all parties in moving forward. Only then can the student begin work on the internship.

Internship emphasis is placed on developing an experience that will provide the student with opportunities to: enhance skills learned during coursework, develop new skills and experiences in which the student will be working in a professional capacity, address competencies, and evaluate the site and overall experience. Students are required to focus on six Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) competencies during the internship coursework, three of which are pre-defined (one leadership [H-5], one professionalism [J-10], and one communication [F-7]), and three of the student’s choice, to be determined by areas of special interest or an identified need to enhance specific skills, and which apply to the individual internship experience.

In addition to the 270-hour work requirement, students must complete two presentations and two reports during their internship work. The Midterm Student Site Visit Presentation and Final Student Internship Presentation allows students to reflect on strengths and challenges of the internship experience, reflect on the progress for achieving the scope of work and competencies, and discuss any further development needs. The Midterm and Final Reports require students to research the organization for which they are working, describe their own role in addressing the agency’s mission and vision, and reflect on their progress in working toward the goals and competencies identified in the student learning contract. In addition to overseeing student on-site work, preceptors provide midterm (at 135 hours of internship completed) and final (at 270 hours of internship completed) evaluations of student performance, strengths, areas for improvement, and readiness to enter the public health workforce.

The internship coordinator facilitates the internship course (CHS 798) and is responsible for overseeing students during their internships, including maintaining communication with the student and preceptor throughout the internship, establishing procedures, monitoring progress, assessing quality, and arranging for student and site evaluations. Faculty advisors serve in a supportive role for students throughout the internship process, assisting the student in the development of internship goals and competencies, locating a suitable placement site, and monitoring student progress.

Placement sites and preceptors are evaluated by the student on such topics as: relevance of the experience to student goals and competencies, professional work environment, engagement of preceptor and other agency staff, and strengths and weaknesses of the site for future internships. The

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internship coordinator and faculty advisor also contribute evaluations from their perspectives of the effectiveness of each site and preceptor and recommendation of the site and preceptor for future placements.

MD/MPH dual degree students select an internship experience that will count for both their MPH internship and their medical school electives. The process still requires ongoing communication between the student, site preceptor and advisor but the expectations are the same in terms of addressing competencies and using this experience for their professional paper and capstone experience.

b. Identification of agencies and preceptors used for practice experiences for students

Table 2.4.b. MPH Internship Placements for Academic Years 2013 -- 2015Internship Site Preceptor

Epidemiology EmphasisUMC Trauma Center, Las Vegas Debra Kuhls, MDNevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Julia Peek, MHAWashoe County Health District Lei Chen, PhDNevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Melanie Flores, MSWNevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Ingrid Mburria, MPHNevada Water Science Center Angela Paul, MSNevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Lacy Matsley, MBACenters for Disease Control and Prevention Michael Kosoy, PhDNevada Office of Rural Health John Packham, PhDSafe Kids Washoe County Melissa Krall, LSWEnvirolution David GibsonNevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Don Ariyakumar, MSWashoe County Health District Sara Dinga, MPAAscel Bio, LCC James Tunkey, MBAImmunize Nevada Heidi Parker, MANevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Dan Mackie, MPH, MSNevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Danika Williams, MPHNevada Primary Care Association Nancy Bowen, MSDesert Research Institute Adrienne Breland, PhDNevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Michael Lowe, PhD

Nanchang University, School of Public Health (China) Yuan Zhaokang, PhD, MD

University Medical Center, Las Vegas John Varras, MDSocial/Behavioral Health Emphasis

University of Nevada, School of Medicine Mary Beth Hogan, MDNevada Cancer Coalition Cari Herington, MBANevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Kimisha Griffin, MPHTahoe Forest Health System Caroline Ford, MS

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Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Julia Peek, MHASafe Kids Washoe County Melissa Krall, LSWNevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health John Whitehill, MPHNevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Emily Brown, MPHKitovu Hospital Anita Mago, MPHRenown Health Gayle Hurd, MA

Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Marjorie Franzen-Weiss, MPH

Washoe County Health District Randall Todd, DrPH

Susan G. Komen Foundation Heather Goulding, MBA

Washoe County School District, Wellness Department Laura Thurston, MPH

Samburu Girls Foundation Josephine KuleaNevada Primary Care Association Patrick Chang, MPH

Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Stephanie Woodard, Psy.D

Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Kathie Lloyd, MSN, RN, CNM, CNS

Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Melanie Flores, MSW

Nanchang University, School of Public Health (China) Yuan Zhaokang, PhD, MD

Community Chest, Inc. Adrienne Sutherland, LCPC, LCADC, NCC, MA

Kocaeli University, School of Medicine Nilay Etiler, MDChildren's Cabinet Kathleen Sandoval, MSWillow Springs Adolescent Behavioral Health Jeremy Matuszak, MD

Health Administration and Policy EmphasisNevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Melanie Flores, MSWNevada Health Co-Op Bobbette Bond, MPH

Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Linsdey Dermid-Gray, MPH

Community Chest, Inc. Adrienne Sutherland, LCPC, LCADC, NCC, MA

Renown Health Keith Payne, MS

c. Data on the number of students receiving a waiver of the practice experience for each of the last three years.

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There were no students receiving waivers.d. Data on the number of preventive medicine, occupational medicine, aerospace medicine and

general preventive medicine and public health residents completing the academic program for each of the last three years, along with information on their practicum rotations.

Not applicable.

e. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.

This criteria is met.

Strengths: There is a well-defined process for selecting internship sites and preceptors and continual

evaluation ensures that the site remains competent. The timeline is communicated and students and advisors understand their roles. Ongoing communication allows for more immediate remediation in case of internship

difficulties. There are more internship sites and proposals than there are MPH students and this allows for a

better match of students to agencies.

Weaknesses: Occasionally the agency is unsuccessful in providing data to students in a timely fashion and this

influences the ability of students to use their internship experience for their professional paper.

Plans: Continue to refine the process of placing interns in agencies through a strong insistence on data

being available and projects being immediately ready for implementation.

2.5 Culminating Experience.

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a. Identification of the culminating experience The MPH culminating experience at UNR has three components: 1) the internship/field studies; 2) the MPH professional paper and presentation; and 3) the capstone course. Through the MPH culminating experience students demonstrate proficiency in public health knowledge and competencies. Successful completion of all three components of the culminating experience is evidence that the MPH graduate is prepared to become a public health professional. After students complete their internship experience (described in section 2.4), they are prepared to complete their MPH professional paper and presentation, and the capstone course.

MPH Professional PaperStudents complete a MPH professional paper that represents the culmination and mastery of the MPH curriculum. The MPH professional paper is typically based on the student’s internship experience and represents a product that the student has developed. Students may need to take the work from their internship a step further to ensure that the product is suitable for the professional paper. Some examples of professional products that could be the basis of the paper include: a needs assessment, a program plan, a program evaluation, product or curriculum development, primary data analysis, secondary data analysis, policy analysis, or grant development.

Before beginning the MPH professional paper, students must: 1) establish a professional paper committee; 2) obtain committee approval for their proposed paper topic; and 3) obtain committee signatures on their program of study. Please see the MPH professional paper guidelines, professional paper approval form, and timeline in the E-resource: Culminating Experience. If the work contributing to the professional paper involves human subjects and meets the definition of research, students must receive appropriate approval from the University of Nevada, Reno Office of Human Research Protection. IRB approval must be obtained before any data collection with human subjects can begin. If the intent of the project is to meet agency needs and fulfill the MPH Professional Paper requirements only, IRB approval is not needed.

The professional paper committee includes: The student’s academic advisor (committee chair) A faculty member from inside the School of Community Health Sciences (member) A graduate faculty member outside the School of Community Health Sciences (graduate

school representative) A professional practice representative typically from the student’s field studies site (highly

encouraged, but not required)

Through the MPH professional paper students will: Demonstrate effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in

the context of professional and public health activities (ASPPH Competency F7) Communicate epidemiologic information to lay and professional audiences (ASPPH

Competency C8) Apply evidence-based principles and scientific knowledge base to critical evaluation and

decision-making in public health (ASPPH Competency J3) Analyze determinants of health and disease using an ecological framework (ASPPH

Competency J6)

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In addition, students work with their faculty advisor to choose one competency within their area of emphasis and one cross-cutting competency that they will emphasize in their professional paper. Committees use a standard evaluation rubric based on the MPH paper guidelines and competencies to evaluate the student’s MPH professional paper. This evaluation rubric and a summary of student’s professional paper scores from the past three years can be found in the E-resource: Culminating Experience. Oral PresentationStudents orally present their professional paper to their committee, other MPH faculty, and MPH students during spring semester. A standard evaluation rubric based on curriculum competencies is used to evaluate the oral presentation. A copy of this evaluation rubric and a summary of oral presentation scores can be found in the E-resource: Culminating Experience. Following the presentation and general questions from the audience, the committee is given time alone to discuss whether the student has provided evidence of mastery of the MPH curriculum and competencies in their professional paper and presentation. Revisions are typically requested and must be made before the student can file for graduation. The MPH Capstone CourseThe MPH capstone course provides the resources structure students need to complete their professional paper and oral presentation. Several scientific writing and oral presentation workshops are provided and students are given the opportunity for peer evaluation during the course.

The capstone course also addresses professional development. Special sessions and assignments related to professional development will vary based on student needs, but may include topics such as: public speaking, group facilitation, conflict resolution, how to be a good supervisor, resume development, how to land a job, public health ethics, and the future of public health as a profession. As a course assignment, students reflect on their mastery of MPH competencies and identify competencies that need to be further developed in a post-graduation professional development plan.

In addition to the competencies related to the professional paper and presentation, the following professional development competencies are addressed through the capstone course:

• Embrace a definition of public health that captures the unique characteristics of the field (e.g., population-focused, community-oriented, prevention-motivated and rooted in social justice) and how these contribute to professional practice (J9)

• Value commitment to lifelong learning and professional service including active participation in professional organizations (J11)

• Apply basic principles of ethical analysis (e.g. the Public Health Code of Ethics, human rights framework, other moral theories) to issues of public health practice and policy (J2)

• One competency within area of emphasis that needs development (student choice) • One competency outside area of emphasis that needs development (student choice)

b. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.

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This criterion has been met.

Strengths The internship, professional paper, and the capstone course are integrated into a

comprehensive culminating experience. The capstone course provides students with the structure and feedback needed to successfully

complete their professional paper and presentation in a timely manner. Evaluation of the professional paper and presentation is standardized and provides valuable

feedback for the students and the capstone course instructor. Many students present their professional paper findings at state and national public health

conferences (E-resource Culminating Experience) The competencies for the professional paper and the capstone course balance academic and

professional development.

Weaknesses and Plans MPH students complete a professional paper, not a thesis. While the committee structure

provides students with the support they need to complete their professional paper, outside committee members do not always understand that a professional paper is based on applied public health experience. To address this, standard language has been developed to differentiate a professional paper from a thesis and this is shared with the committee at the paper proposal meeting. In addition, an evaluation of committee structure and requirements for professional papers in all CEPH accredited schools and programs is being conducted. Data from the evaluation will be shared with the graduate school to determine whether an academic committee structure is needed for a professional paper.

The field studies experience does not always produce a product that can be used for the professional paper. Agency priorities and timelines change, data may not be as useful as anticipated, or other unexpected “real life” issues may emerge such as staff turnover. In an attempt to ensure that students are carving out a master’s level project, a mid-internship on-site site visit has been added. The student, faculty advisor, field studies coordinator, and agency representative meet to discuss progress and identify the focus of the MPH professional paper. The MPH professional paper orientation has been moved to the spring semester before students begin their internship and halfway through their internship students complete a capstone assignment where they read and evaluate MPH professional papers from previous years. Doing this assignment during their internship has given students greater context for determining the focus of their professional paper.

2.6 Required Competencies.

a. Competencies for graduate professional and baccalaureate public health degree studentsTable 2.6a. UNR MPH Core Competencies.

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Domain: BiostatisticsA1. Describe the roles biostatistics serves in the discipline of public healthA2. Describe and apply basic concepts of probability, random variation and commonly used statistical probability distributionsA3. Illustrate preferred methodological alternatives to commonly used statistical methods when assumptions are not metA4. Identify and explain the different measurement scales and the implications for selection of statistical methods to be used based on these distinctionsA5. Calculate descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public health dataA6. Apply common statistical methods for inferenceDomain: Environmental Health SciencesB1. Compare the direct and indirect human, ecological and safety effects of major environmental and occupational agentsB2. Describe genetic, physiologic and psychosocial factors that affect susceptibility to adverse health outcomes following exposure to environmental hazardsB3. Explain federal and state regulatory programs, guidelines and authorities that control environmental health issuesB5. Describe approaches for assessing, preventing and controlling environmental hazards that pose risks to human health and safetyB6. Explain the general mechanisms of toxicity in eliciting a toxic response to various environmental exposuresB7. Review various risk management and risk communication approaches in relation to issues of environmental justice and equityDomain: EpidemiologyC1. Describe key sources of data for epidemiologic purposesC2. Demonstrate the principles and limitations of public health screening programsC3. Illustrate a public health problem in terms of magnitude, person, time, and placeC4. Explain the importance of epidemiology for informing scientific, ethical, economic and political discussion of health issuesC5. Apply basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of epidemiologic dataC6. Describe the basic terminology and definitions of epidemiologyC7. Calculate basic epidemiology measuresC8. Summarize epidemiologic information to lay and professional audiencesCHS Epi_1. Apply causal inference and hypothesis testingCHS Epi_2. Illustrate the purposes, strengths and weaknesses of various study designsCHS Epi_3. Calculate and illustrate random error and systematic error (bias)CHS Epi_4. Describe and demonstrate whether confounding and/or effect modification is presentC10. Illustrate the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic reportsDomain: Health Policy and ManagementD1. Identify the main components and issues of the organization, financing and delivery of health

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services and public health systems in the USD2. Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health servicesD4. Illustrate the basic policy process for improving the health status of populations.D7. Explain quality and performance improvement concepts to address organizational performance issues.D8. Apply "systems thinking" for resolving organizational problems.D9. Communicate health policy and management issues using through written and oral communicationDomain: Social and Behavioral SciencesE1. Identify basic theories, concepts and models from a range of social and behavioral disciplines that are used in public health research and practiceE2. Identify the causes of social and behavioral factors that affect health of individuals and populations from an ecological perspectiveE3. Identify individual, organizational, and community concerns, assets, resources and deficits for social and behavioral science interventions.E6. Describe the role of social and community factors in both the onset and solution of public health problemsE7. Describe the merits of social and behavioral science interventions and policiesE10. Specify multiple targets and levels of intervention for social and behavioral science programs and/or policiesDomain: Communication and InformaticsF. 2. Describe how societal, organizational, and individual factors influence and are influenced by public health communicationsF7. Demonstrate effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional public health activitiesDomain: Diversity and CultureG1. Describe the roles of, history, power, privilege and structural inequality in producing health disparities.G3. Explain why cultural competence alone cannot address health disparityDomain: LeadershipH5. Demonstrate team building, negotiation, and conflict management skills.H8. Apply social justice and human rights principles when addressing community needsDomain: ProfessionalismJ2. Apply basic principles of ethical analysis (e.g. Public Health Code of Ethics, human rights framework, other moral theories) to issues of public health practice and policyJ3. Apply evidence-based principles and the scientific knowledge base to critical evaluation and decision-making in public health.J6. Analyze and assess determinants of health and disease using an ecological frameworkJ9. Explain and apply a definition of public health that captures the unique characteristics of the field (e.g. population-focused, community-oriented, prevention-motivated and rooted in social justice) and how these contribute to professional practice.J10. Demonstrate the importance of working collaboratively with diverse communities and

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constituencies (e.g. researchers, practitioners, agencies and organizations)J11. Propose a commitment to lifelong learning and professional service including active participation in professional organizationsDomain: Program PlanningK7. Compare between qualitative and quantitative methods in relation to their strengths, limitations, and appropriate uses, and emphases on reliability and validityTable 2.6a Core Competencies BS Degree in Community Health Sciences

Core Student Outcomes for BS degree in Community Health SciencesStudent Outcome 1: Describe the history and philosophy of public health as well as its core values, concepts, and functions across the globe and in societyStudent Outcome 2; Apply the basic concepts, methods, and tools of public health data collection, use, and analysis and explain why evidence-based approaches are an essential part of public health practiceStudent Outcome 3: Distinguish the concepts of population health, and the basic processes, approaches, and interventions that identify and address the major health-related needs and concerns of populationsStudent Outcome 4: Recognize the underlying science of human health and disease including opportunities for promoting and protecting health across the life course

Student Outcome 5: Compare the socio-economic, behavioral, biological, environmental, and other factors that impact human health and contribute to health disparitiesStudent Outcome 6: Demonstrate the fundamental concepts and features of project implementation, including planning, assessment, and evaluationStudent Outcome 7: Evaluate the fundamental characteristics and organizational structures of the U.S. health system as well as to the differences in systems in other countriesStudent Outcome 8: Discuss the basic concepts of legal, ethical, economic, and regulatory dimensions of health care and public health policy, and the roles, influences and responsibilities of the different agencies and branches of governmentStudent Outcome 9: Practice the basic concepts of public health-specific communication, including technical and professional writing and the use of mass media and electronic technology

b. Specific competencies.Competencies for MPH:Table 2.6b. Epidemiology Specialization Competencies.Domain: BiostatisticsA. 3. Evaluate preferred methodological alternatives to commonly used statistical methods when assumptions are not metA. 4. Compare, evaluate and debate the different measurement scales and the implications for selection of statistical methods to be used based on these distinctionsA. 5. Construct and justify descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public health dataA. 6. Decide common statistical methods for inferenceA. 7. Recommend descriptive and inferential methodologies according to the type of study design for answering a particular research questionA. 8. Verify basic informatics techniques with vital statistics and public health records in the description of public health characteristics and in public health research and evaluation

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A. 9. Compare and judge results of statistical analyses found in public health studiesA.10. Create and develop written and oral presentations based on statistical analyses for both public health professionals and educated lay audiencesCHS.Epi.5. Design, apply and evaluate data analysis using a statistical software package (SAS)Domain: EpidemiologyC.1. Evaluate key sources of data for epidemiologic purposesC.3. Evaluate and distinguish a public health problem in terms of magnitude, person, time, and placeC.5. Assess and compare basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of epidemiologic dataC7. Analyze, apply and judge basic epidemiology measuresCHS Epi 1. Assess, verify and evaluate causal inference and hypothesis testingCHS Epi 2. Analyze and assess the purposes, strengths, and weaknesses of various study designsCHS Epi 3. Investigate, judge and verify random error and systematic error (bias)CHS Epi 4. Investigate, verify and analyze whether confounding and/or effect modification is presentC.10. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic reportsDomain: InformaticsF. 1. Describe how the public health information infrastructure is used to collect, process, maintain, and disseminate dataF. 3. Explain the influences of social, organizational and individual factors on the use of information technology end usersF. 5. Evaluate legal and ethical principles to the use of information technology and resources in public health settingsF. 6. Explain collaboration with communication and informatics specialists in the process of design, implementation, and evaluation of public health programsF. 7. Develop effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional public health activitiesF. 8. Analyze information technology to access, evaluate, and interpret public health dataF. 9. Investigate informatics methods and resources as strategic tools to promote public healthF.10. Describe how informatics and communication methods can be used to advocate for community public health programs and policiesDomain: Program PlanningK. 2. Develop the tasks necessary to assure that program/study implementation occurs as intendedK. 8. Develop a program budget with justificationK. 5. Compose goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and expected outcomes for a research proposal

Table 2.6b. Social and Behavioral Specialization Competencies.Domain: BiostatisticsA. 5. Apply descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public health dataA. 6. Apply common statistical methods for inferenceA. 7. Develop methods and study designs to answer a particular research question

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Domain: Health Policy and ManagementD. 10. Demonstrate leadership skills for building partnershipsDomain: Social and Behavioral SciencesE. 1. Evaluate basic theories, concepts and models from a range of social and behavioral disciplines that are used in public health research and practiceE. 2. Evaluate causes of social and behavioral factors that affect health of individuals and populations from an ecological perspectiveE. 4. Justify the selection of critical stakeholders for the planning and implementation of public health programs, policies and interventionsE. 5. Design and evaluate the steps and procedures for the planning and implementation of public health programs, policies and interventionsE. 7. Justify and assess the merits of social and behavioral science interventions & policiesE. 8. Apply and propose evidence-based approaches in the development of social and behavioral science interventionsE. 9. Apply and assess ethical principles to public health program planning and implementationDomain: Communication and InformaticsSBH.1. Collect, manage and organize data to produce information for different audiencesF. 4. Apply theory and strategy-based communication principles across different settings and audiences.F. 7. Develop effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional and public health activitiesDomain: Diversity and CultureG. 2. Analyze how professional ethics and practices relate to equity and accountability in diverse community settingsG. 5. Comprehend the basic concepts and skills involved in culturally appropriate community engagement and empowerment with diverse communitiesG. 6. Comprehend the principles of community-based participatory research to improve health in diverse populationsG. 8. Differentiate between linguistic competence, cultural competency, and health literacy in public health practiceG. 9. Identify and evaluate situations where consideration of culture-specific needs resulted in a more effective modification or adaptation of a health interventionG. 10. Develop public health programs and strategies responsive to the diverse cultural values and traditions of the communities being servedDomain: Program PlanningK. 2. Distinguish and evaluate the tasks necessary to assure that program implementation occurs as intendedK. 3. Justify how the findings of a program evaluation can be usedK. 4. Evaluate the contribution of logic models in program development, implementation, and evaluationK. 5. Create goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and expected outcomes for a public health programK. 6. Assess the purposes of formative, process, and outcome evaluation

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K. 7. Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods in relation to their strengths, limitations, and appropriate uses, and emphases on reliability and validityK. 9. Assess individual, organizational, and community concerns and resources for public health programsDomain: Systems ThinkingL. 2 Assess unintended consequences produced by changes made to a public health systemL. 7 Evaluate how changes in public health systems (including input, processes, and output) can be measured

Table 2.6b. Health Administration and Policy Specialization Competencies.

Domain: Health Policy and Management

D. 1 Identify the main components and issues of the organization, financing and delivery of health services and public health systems in the US.D. 2 Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services.D. 4. Illustrate the basic policy process for improving the health status of the population.D. 7. Explain quality and performance improvement concepts to address organizational performance issues.D. 8. Apply "systems thinking" for resolving organizational problems.D. 9. Communicate health policy and management issues using appropriate channels and information system technologies.CHS HAP 1. Distinguish the main components of the policy process as it applies to improving population health outcomes.CHS HAP 2. Utilize aspects of program planning, development, economic evaluation, management, collaboration, and evaluation to develop a comprehensive policy analysis.CHS HAP 3. Assess collaborative aspects of policy development and develop plans for systems-level implementation of these collaborations.CHS HAP 4. Analyze evidenced-base by understanding statistical analyses with which to applying decision-making.Domain: Social and Behavioral SciencesE. 4. Justify the selection of critical stakeholders for the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health programs, policies and interventionsE. 5. Design the steps and procedures for the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health programs, policies and interventionsE. 8. Apply evidence-based approaches in the development and evaluation of social and behavioral science interventionsE. 9. Develop ethical principles to public health program planning, implementation and evaluationDomain: Communication and InformaticsF. 3. Compare influences of social, organizational and individual factors on the use of information technology by administrative and clinical end users.F. 4. Apply theory and strategy-based communication principles across different settings and

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audiences.F.6. Relate with users of communication and informatics specialists in the process of design, implementation, and evaluation of health services programs.F. 7. Develop effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional and public health activities.F. 8. Appraise information technology for Quality Improvement to assess, evaluate, and interpret health services and patient data.F. 9. Justify informatics methods and resources as strategic tools to assist communities in understanding health services.F. 10. Identify informatics and communication methods for Quality Improvement of health services.Domain: Diversity and CultureG. 4. Prescribe the importance and characteristics of a sustainable diverse public health workforce.G.10. Develop public health programs and strategies responsive to the diverse cultural values and traditions of the communities being served.Domain: LeadershipH. 6. Role model transparency, integrity, and honesty in all actions.H. 9. Role model strategies, to motivate others for collaborative problem solving, decision-making, and evaluation.CHS HAP 5. Critique in writing or, if called upon, verbally his or her understanding of the implications that knowledge workers have for the contemporary workforce.Domain: Program PlanningK. 5. Create goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and expected outcomes for a public health programK. 9. Assess individual, organizational, and community concerns and resources for public health programsDomain: Systems ThinkingL.9. Illustrate the effects of political, social and economic policies on public health systems at the local, state, national and international levels.

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Table 2.6.b. BS competencies by specialization

Student Outcome BS in Community Heath Sciences: Public HealthStudent Outcome 1. Demonstrate completion of a literature search on a health issue using a variety of academic and public resources.Student Outcome 2: Appraise evidence-based approaches to public health practice.Student Outcome 3: Evaluate regulatory dimensions of health care and public health practiceStudent Outcome 4: Employ effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional and public health activities.

Student Outcome BS in Community Health Sciences: KinesiologyStudent Outcome 1: Evaluate existing conditioning programs for safety and effectiveness.Student Outcome 2: Demonstrate the ability to promote and maintain successful physical activity programming in diverse settings and situations.Student Outcome 3: Describe a theoretical framework for valid and reliable assessment and evidence-based modification of an individual’s body structure and physical capacity.Student Outcome 4: Demonstrate process of incoming sensory information and subsequent motor output.

c. A matrix that identifies the learning experiences by which the competencies defined in Criteria 2.6.a and 2.6.b are met.

Competency Table matrix for MPH Core found in E-resource: Competency, Table 2.6.c MPH Core Competencies

Competency

Epidemiology Competency MatrixCHS 709

Epidemiologic Research Design

CHS 703 R Applied Health Analysis

CHS 753 Health Informatics

CHS 708 Epidemiology II

Bloom's Taxonomy LevelDomain: Biostatistics

A. 3. _____ preferred methodological alternatives to commonly used statistical methods when assumptions are not met

6. Evaluate R

A. 4. _____ the different measurement scales and the implications for selection of statistical methods to be used based on these distinctions

4. CompareR

6. EvaluateR

6. Debate R

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Competency

Epidemiology Competency MatrixCHS 709

Epidemiologic Research Design

CHS 703 R Applied Health Analysis

CHS 753 Health Informatics

CHS 708 Epidemiology II

Bloom's Taxonomy LevelA. 5. _____ descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public health data

5. ConstructR

6. JustifyR

A. 6. _____ common statistical methods for inference 6. DecideR

A. 7. _____ descriptive and inferential methodologies according to the type of study design for answering a particular research question

6. RecommendR

A. 8. _____ basic informatics techniques with vital statistics and public health records in the description of public health characteristics and in public health research and evaluation

6. VerifyP

A. 9. _____ results of statistical analyses found in public health studies 4. CompareP

6. Judge R

A.10._____ written and oral presentations based on statistical analyses for both public health professionals and educated lay audiences

5. CreateR

5. DevelopP

CHS.Epi.5. _____ data analysis using a statistical software package (SAS)

5. DesignR

3. ApplyP

6. EvaluateR

Domain: EpidemiologyC.1. _____ key sources of data for epidemiologic purposes 6. Evaluate

RC.3. _____ a public health problem in terms of magnitude, person, time, and place

6. EvaluateR

4. Distinguish R

C.5. _____ basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of epidemiologic data

6. AssessR

4. Compare R

C7. _____ basic epidemiology measures 4. AnalyzeR

3. ApplyR

6. JudgeR

CHS Epi 1. _____ causal inference and hypothesis testing 6. AssessR

6. VerifyR

6. EvaluateR

CHS Epi 2. _____ the purposes, strengths, and weaknesses of various study designs

4. AnalyzeR

6. AssessR

CHS Epi 3. _____ random error and systematic error (bias) 4. InvestigateR

6. JudgeR

6. Verify R

CHS Epi 4. _____ whether confounding and/or effect modification is present

4. Investigate R

6. Verify R

4. Analyze R

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Competency

Epidemiology Competency MatrixCHS 709

Epidemiologic Research Design

CHS 703 R Applied Health Analysis

CHS 753 Health Informatics

CHS 708 Epidemiology II

Bloom's Taxonomy LevelC.10. _____ the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic reports 6. Evaluate

RDomain: InformaticsF. 1. _____ how the public health information infrastructure is used to collect, process, maintain, and disseminate data

2. DescribeP

F. 3. _____ the influences of social, organizational and individual factors on the use of information technology end users

2. ExplainP

F. 5. _____ legal and ethical principles to the use of information technology and resources in public health settings

6. EvaluateP

F. 6. _____ collaboration with communication and informatics specialists in the process of design, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs

2. Explain P

F. 7. _____ effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional public health activities

5. DevelopR

F. 8. _____ information technology to access, evaluate, and interpret public health data

4. Analyze P

F. 9. _____ informatics methods and resources as strategic tools to promote public health

4. Investigate P

F.10._____ how informatics and communication methods can be used to advocate for community public health programs and policies

2. Describe P

Domain: Program PlanningK. 2. _____ the tasks necessary to assure that program/study implementation occurs as intended

5. Develop P

K. 8. _____ a program budget with justification 5. Develop P

K. 5. _____ goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and expected outcomes for a research proposal

5. ComposeP

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Competency

Social and Behavioral Health Emphasis Competency Matrix

CHS 705 Theoretical Foundation of Health

Promotion

CHS 720 Program Planning and Grant

Writing

CHS 721 Program

Evaluation in Public Health

CHS 747 Applied Research

Methods in Public Health

Bloom's Taxonomy LevelDomain BiostatisticsA. 5. _____ descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public health data

3. ApplyR

A. 6. _____ common statistical methods for inference 3. ApplyR

A. 7. _____ methods and study designs to answer a particular research question

5. DevelopR

Domain Health Policy and ManagementD. 10. _____ leadership skills for building partnerships 3. Demonstrate

RDomain Social and Behavioral SciencesE. 1. _____ basic theories, concepts and models from a range of social and behavioral disciplines that are used in public health research and practice

6. EvaluateP

E. 2. _____ causes of social and behavioral factors that affect health of individuals and populations from an ecological perspective

6. EvaluateR

E. 4. _____ the selection of critical stakeholders for the planning and implementation of public health programs, policies and interventions

6. JustifyP

6. JustifyR

E. 5. _____ the steps and procedures for the planning and implementation of public health programs, policies and interventions

4. DesignP

6. EvaluateR

E. 7._____ the merits of social and behavioral science interventions & policies

6. JustifyR

6. AssessR

E. 8. _____ evidence-based approaches in the development of social and behavioral science interventions

3. ApplyR

ProposeR

E. 9. _____ ethical principles to public health program planning and implementation

3. ApplyR

6. AssessR

Domain Communication and InformaticsSBH.1. _____ , manage and organize data to produce information for different audiences

5. CollectP

F. 4. _____ theory and strategy-based communication principles across different settings and audiences.

3. ApplyR

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Competency

Social and Behavioral Health Emphasis Competency Matrix

CHS 705 Theoretical Foundation of Health

Promotion

CHS 720 Program Planning and Grant

Writing

CHS 721 Program

Evaluation in Public Health

CHS 747 Applied Research

Methods in Public Health

Bloom's Taxonomy LevelF. 7. _____ effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional and public health activities

5. DevelopR

5. DevelopR

5. DevelopR

Domain Diversity and Culture

G. 2. _____ how professional ethics and practices relate to equity and accountability in diverse community settings

4. AnalyzeR

G. 5. _____ the basic concepts and skills involved in culturally appropriate community engagement and empowerment with diverse communities

2. ComprehendR

G. 6. _____ the principles of community-based participatory research to improve health in diverse populations

2. ComprehendR

G. 8. ______ between linguistic competence, cultural competency, and health literacy in public health practice

4. DifferentiateR

G. 9. _____ situations where consideration of culture-specific needs resulted in a more effective modification or adaptation of a health intervention

1. IdentifyR

6. EvaluateR

G. 10 _____ public health programs and strategies responsive to the diverse cultural values and traditions of the communities being served

5. DevelopP

5. DevelopP

Domain Program PlanningK. 2. _____ the tasks necessary to assure that program implementation occurs as intended

4. DistinguishP

6. EvaluateP

K. 3. _____ how the findings of a program evaluation can be used 6. JustifyP

K. 4. _____ the contribution of logic models in program development, implementation, and evaluation

6. EvaluateP

K. 5. _____ goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and expected outcomes for a public health program

5. CreateP

K. 6. _____ the purposes of formative, process, and outcome evaluation 6. AssessP

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Competency

Social and Behavioral Health Emphasis Competency Matrix

CHS 705 Theoretical Foundation of Health

Promotion

CHS 720 Program Planning and Grant

Writing

CHS 721 Program

Evaluation in Public Health

CHS 747 Applied Research

Methods in Public Health

Bloom's Taxonomy LevelK. 7. _____ between qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods in relation to their strengths, limitations, and appropriate uses, and emphases on reliability and validity

4. DistinguishR

K. 9. _____ individual, organizational, and community concerns and resources for public health programs

6. AssessP

Domain Systems ThinkingL. 2 _____ unintended consequences produced by changes made to a public health system

6. AssessP

L. 7 _____ how changes in public health systems (including input, processes, and output) can be measured

6. EvaluateR

Competency

Health Administration and Policy Competency Matrix

CHS 720 Program Planning and Grant Writing

CHS 741 Methods in Health Policy

Analysis

CHS 756 Organizational

Behavior in Health Services

CHS 758 Information Systems in Health Services

ManagementBloom's Taxonomy Level

Domain: Health Policy and ManagementD. 4. _____ the basic policy process for improving the health status of the population

4. IllustrateR

D. 7. _____ quality and performance improvement concepts to address organizational performance issues

6. AssessR

D. 8. _____ "systems thinking" for resolving organizational problems. 5. ProposeR

3. ApplyR

D. 9. _____ health policy and management issues using appropriate channels and information system technologies.

6. AssessR

CHS HAP 1. _____ the main components of the policy process as it applies to improving population health outcomes.

4. DistinguishR

CHS HAP 2._____aspects of program planning, development, economic evaluation, management, collaboration, and evaluation to develop a comprehensive policy analysis.

3. UtilizeR

CHS HAP 3._____collaborative aspects of policy development and 6. Assess

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Competency

Health Administration and Policy Competency Matrix

CHS 720 Program Planning and Grant Writing

CHS 741 Methods in Health Policy

Analysis

CHS 756 Organizational

Behavior in Health Services

CHS 758 Information Systems in Health Services

ManagementBloom's Taxonomy Level

develop plans for systems-level implementation of these collaborations. PCHS HAP 4._____evidenced-base by understanding statistical analyses with which to applying decision-making.

4. AnalyzeP

Domain: Social and Behavioral SciencesE. 4. _____ the selection of critical stakeholders for the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health programs, policies and interventions

6. JustifyP

E. 5. _____ the steps and procedures for the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health programs, policies and interventions

4. DesignP

E. 8. _____ evidence-based approaches in the development and evaluation of social and behavioral science interventions

3. ApplyR

E. 9. _____ ethical principles to public health program planning, implementation and evaluation

3. ApplyR

Domain: Communication and InformaticsF. 3. _____ influences of social, organizational and individual factors on the use of information technology by administrative and clinical end users

4. CompareP

F. 4. _____ theory and strategy-based communication principles across different settings and audiences

3. ApplyR

F.6. _____ with users of communication and informatics specialists in the process of design, implementation, and evaluation of health services programs.

5. RelateP

F. 7. _____ effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional and public health activities

5. DevelopR

4. DemonstrateR

F. 8. _____ information technology for Quality Improvement to assess, evaluate, and interpret health services and patient data

6. AppraiseP

F. 9. _____ informatics methods and resources as strategic tools to assist communities in understanding health services.

6. JustifyP

F. 10. _____ informatics and communication methods for Quality Improvement of health services.

4. IdentifyR

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Competency

Health Administration and Policy Competency Matrix

CHS 720 Program Planning and Grant Writing

CHS 741 Methods in Health Policy

Analysis

CHS 756 Organizational

Behavior in Health Services

CHS 758 Information Systems in Health Services

ManagementBloom's Taxonomy Level

Domain: Diversity and CultureG. 4. _____ the importance and characteristics of a sustainable diverse public health workforce

5. PrescribeP

G.10. _____ public health programs and strategies responsive to the diverse cultural values and traditions of the communities being served

5. DevelopP

Domain: LeadershipH. 6. _____transparency, integrity, and honesty in all actions. 6. Role Model

PH. 9. _____ strategies, to motivate others for collaborative problem solving, decision-making, and evaluation.

6. Role ModelP

CHS HAP 5._____in writing or, if called upon, verbally his or her understanding of the implications that knowledge workers have for the contemporary workforce.

6. CritiqueP

Domain: Program PlanningK. 5. _____ goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and expected outcomes for a public health program

5. CreateP

K. 9. _____ individual, organizational, and community concerns and resources for public health programs

6. AssessP

Domain: Systems ThinkingL.9. _____ the effects of political, social and economic policies on public health systems at the local, state, national and international levels.

4. IllustrateR

P=Primary, R=Reinforcing

Template 2.6.1: Courses and activities through which BS degree Student Learning Objectives are met (please see 2.8 d Template L)

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d. Analysis of the completed matrix included in Criterion 2.6.c. with changes.

Epidemiology: Competency assessment (described in section 2.7) demonstrated the need for more SAS analysis before students begin their internship experience. Therefore, CHS 753-Health Informatics was moved to spring semester (year 1) and this course was revised to include more SAS data management and descriptive analysis skills. This course was coordinated closely with CHS 703R-Applied Health Analysis which is taught the same semester and focused more on advanced analytic techniques. Covering the competencies for CHS 709-Epidemiologic Research Design was not possible with a 2 credit course, so this course was changed to 3 credits and CHS 708-Epidemiology II was changed from a 4 credit course to a 3 credit course, including 1 SAS lab credit. After a few semesters of competency assessment, course instructors for CHS 712-Epidemiology for Public Health and CHS 780-Biostatistics in Public Health collaborated more closely to ensure that epidemiology and biostatistics course material was complementary. One biostatistics competency was moved from CHS 712 to CHS 780 and different aspects of shared competencies are taught in each class. For example, CHS 712 focuses on systematic error, while CHS 780 focuses on random error.

Social and Behavioral Health: Based on employers’ requests that students have more training in survey and mixed methods, a new course, CHS 747 Applied Research Methods in Public Health, was developed and required to be completed before social/behavioral students commence their internship. Relatedly, CHS 700 Research Methods in Public Health was increased from 1 to 3 credits and is required for all MPH students. A related concern was that the MPH cultural diversity class was only required for the social/behavioral health students yet workforce needs require that all students be skilled in partnering with diverse groups. Therefore, our competencies were revised in an effort to address cultural diversity issues throughout the curriculum for all MPH students.

Health Administration and Policy:Our non-SCHS HAP faculty along with SCHS faculty met in Fall 2013 to review the current HAP curriculum. It lacked more quantitative courses and financial courses. At that time, we added the Health Care Finance course to our curriculum and hired two LOA faculty to develop the course and teach it in Spring 2014 with mixed success. While it was a good first step, feedback from our Finance instructors as well as the instructors for Health Economics and Health Policy Analysis indicated poor skills and competencies with quantitative content. These faculty now coordinate their curriculum topics together in order to provide better overlapping materials to students. In addition, our HAP students’ feedback from their internships in summer 2015 indicate more is needed.So, while our students were achieving the competencies, it was not translating to other courses and then to internship. We have not yet achieved the appropriate level of content for the HAP students to be successful. We anticipate in 2016, we will be better prepared in these areas as it is now the second time around for all courses for HAP students, and faculty have made adjustments coordinating more, and have clearer expectations of assignments that will achieve the competencies.In addition, we also changed the competencies for CHS 755 – to make it more system focused and less

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administration focused. We dropped several of the competencies and focused on policy and system competencies.

Field Studies: The graduate committee analyzed the internship experience and identified that there were a set of competencies that were needed to successfully complete the internship and prepare for the culminating experience. The graduate committee and faculty from each discipline identified the courses needed to be taken and passed before commencing an internship. Each discipline also changed course sequencing to ensure that students would be well prepared for their experiences (see section 2.6d above). In 2014, the Student Learning Contract in CHS 798-MPH Internship was revised to include more professionally relevant student competencies that were mentioned in midterm and final student evaluations of the past years. The Student Learning Contract now also incorporates a Project Management Plan with SMART objectives and an hour distribution tracking mechanism, as well as a methods section to discuss the methods that will be utilized in the internship project. Resources and skill based tracking assessment has also been incorporated to ensure that the students are embarking on their internships with the necessary skill sets to succeed.

MPH Capstone: MPH professional paper evaluations and student competency assessment revealed the need to provide students with more structure for writing the methods and results section for their professional paper. Two new class sessions and accompanying materials focused on structuring quantitative and qualitative methods and visually displaying data were added to CHS 796-MPH Capstone. The need to begin the professional paper earlier also emerged and three required writing workshops were added to the semester before the capstone course begins.

e. Developing competencies, how they are used and made available to students.

Competency Development. MPH core competencies were identified by a core competency subcommittee consisting of faculty who teach required core courses and a student representative. Core course instructors developed competency plans (see E-resource file) that mapped each competency to specific learning and assessment activities. After all competency plans were developed, the competency subcommittee reconvened to approve individual course competency plans and to develop the matrix that maps all core competencies with the required courses. A similar process was followed for the development of area of specialization course competency plans and the competency matrix for each area of specialization. Core and area specialization competencies are presented and approved by the graduate committee and faculty-at-large.

Competency Use. The core and area of specialization competencies form the basis for all MPH Program curricular development, assessment, and revision. Each semester, the competencies are evaluated by students and faculty (see section 2.7). Core and area faculty meet to review the evaluation data and make curricular adjustments. Competencies are used to make sure all courses are taught consistently. We encourage students to share the list of competencies addressed in completed courses when discussing possible internship placements with preceptors. Finally, the competencies form the basis for

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student planning and participation in field studies and the culminating capstone course. Students select competencies to target for individual development during each course and complete self-assessment of chosen competencies. Students in the capstone course also identify competencies that they plan to address through professional development after graduation (see sections 2.4 and 2.5).

Availability of Competencies to Students. All syllabi for MPH core courses and required courses for each area of specialization include the approved competencies. The competencies are listed on the school’s website and in the student handbook. The competency assessment plans are distributed during courses or posted for students on their course websites. In addition, the university’s assessment office recently agreed to recognize our developed competencies as the required student learning outcomes for each MPH class and will add our competencies to the university catalog by end of spring 2016.

f. Competencies are based on changing needs.

A survey of undergraduate CHS student conducted in 2010 indicated that 67% of students would be very interested in a degree in kinesiology or allied health. Inclusion of exercise physiology and kinesiology and their prerequisites in biology slowed student progress through the CHS BS degree. Students more interested in public health wanted to be able to take more electives in public health. This information sparked the split of the CHS BS degree into the two emphases. Exploration of other programs in kinesiology helped in the formation of the kinesiology curriculum. In addition, the state of Nevada did not have any programs that would certify secondary physical education teachers. Identification of the components needed to certify teachers showed that addition of a few courses to the kinesiology curriculum would fulfill that requirement.

A public health workforce development survey was completed in 2013 and 2015. The survey in 2013 assessed educational and skill needs. The 2015 survey concentrated on an assessment of essential public health competencies. Important information gleaned from these surveys indicated that over 60% of working public health professionals did not have MPH or public health training. The competency survey in particular noted a need for basic skills related to epidemiology, program planning and evaluation, and a desire to use technology more effectively. Based on this and internship feedback, the curriculum changed to address quantitative and qualitative evaluation competencies before the internship experience.

An alumni survey is completed every year and graduates reflect on the usefulness of their core MPH coursework for their current employment positions (see section 2.7c). While this survey does not evaluate specific objectives the overall ratings of courses on a 4 point scale are high: CH 700-Research Methods for Public Health (3.45), CHS 701-Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Health (3.23), CHS 712-Epidemiology in Public Health (3.83), CHS 725-Health and the Environment (3.28), CHS 755-Health Policy and Administration (3.18), and CHS 780-Biostatistics in Public Health (3.68). Core and specialization competency committees review findings from the workforce development surveys, alumni surveys, and internship supervisors to revise competencies and course progression. In addition, an employer survey is being developed to more specifically evaluate whether our current competencies meet the needs of employers.

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g. Assessment of program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.

This criterion is met with commentary.Strengths:

A well-developed competency-based curriculum is in place. Competencies are revised based on student input, faculty assessments and workforce needs.

Weaknesses: Workforce surveys have been conducted, however they have focused more on professional

development needs rather than specifically evaluating the school’s competencies. More specific assessments of program-wide competencies would provide useful data. While internship preceptors evaluate internship-related competencies there is a need to more comprehensively assess core and specific competencies to address workforce needs.

Plans: The 2015 workforce survey data are currently being analyzed in greater detail and results will

be shared with faculty to determine competency gaps. A plan to address these gaps will be developed in the upcoming year.

Survey results are being presented to stakeholders throughout Nevada during the month of October 2015. Feedback from these community roundtables also will be used in revising the competencies.

Development of an employer survey focused on competencies.

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2.7 Assessment Procedures. : a. Monitoring and evaluating student progress

Beginning in Fall 2014, the School of Committee Health Sciences instituted an Exit Exam for graduating students with a declared CHS major in the Bachelor of Science degree program. The exam has been pilot tested for two semesters (Fall 2014 and Spring 2015).

The exam consists of a single case study drawn from a chapter in Savage Inequalities (Kozol 1991). We created twelve short answer questions that assess students’ competency in six domains: social behavioral health, health policy, public health ethics, environmental health, epidemiology, and public health biology.

The first pilot test (Fall 2014) was designed to examine feasibility and logistical issues related to administering the exam. The exam was administered anonymously via the UNR WebCampus platform to students in the CHS 494 “Field Studies in Public Health” course, which is required for all CHS majors in the last year of their degree progression. All students in CHS 494 were randomized to take one of two versions of the exam, each of which consisted of six questions (one question per domain). Participation was incentivized by raffling three gift certificate worth $10 each to students who completed the exam by the last day of class. Seventeen out of 55 (31%) students completed the exam . Students were given two weeks to complete the exam. On average, students spent over 2 hours completing the exam. Students who completed the exam had earned an average of a 90% in CHS 494. The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee reviewed the exam results and formulated several recommendations for improving response rate and addressing logistical barriers that emerged in the first pilot. These included:

1. Increase student participation through: further incentivizing participation, explaining the purpose and importance of the exam, reducing the time burden

2. Improve student experience and reduce logistical barriers through: changing the administration to a more user friendly web interface, allowing students to select one question per domain rather than randomly assigning

In the second pilot test (Spring 2015), the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee instituted several changes in response to the recommendations from the first pilot. The exam was administered anonymously using Google Survey, which reduced the logistical burden associated with WebCampus and allowed students to select questions from each domain to answer. The exam was described in the CHS 494 syllabus and assigned a point value – credit was earned for completing the exam but was not based on the students’ scores. The Director of the Undergraduate Program wrote a letter to students explaining the rationale for and purpose of the exam. Seventy-six out of 113 (67%) CHS 494 students completed the exam – a considerable improvement over the 31% participation rate in the first pilot. Two second-year MPH students, who were trained by Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, graded the exams. The average score on the exam was 2.14, on a four-point Likert-type scale (1-4). The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee is in the process of reviewing the exams and formulating recommendations for future implementation. Deliberations will include:

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1. Characteristics of the exam – Are the questions appropriate for measuring the public health competencies outlined by the program? Is it appropriate to assess all the competencies at the end of the four-year course progression, or should the program implement interim exams that assess competencies immediately after required coursework? Can the short-answer questions be replaced or supplemented with multiple choice questions, which would reduce burden and facilitate consistency in grading?

2. Quality of the grading – Were the responses graded appropriately? How can the program ensure appropriate and consistent grading of short-answer responses year-to-year and grader-to-grader?

3. Student participation – How can students be further incentivized to commit sufficient effort to the exam? How can the participation rate be improved further?

4. Content of the undergraduate curriculum – After addressing measurement and logistical issues that might impact results, how can the results of the exit exam be used to improve student learning thorough their progression in the CHS major?

In September 2015, we met with the University Assessment Office to determine our assessment plan. The office has additional capacity to support specialized assessment in each major and has added staff analysts and survey software. We devised a plan with three surveys identifiable to student names throughout the course progression: CHS 101, early in the semester, as a pre-test; CHS 280, by the end of semester, as a mid-point assessment; CHS 494, towards end of semester, as the post-test. The survey questions will include self-assessment about the program SLO’s.

Every required MPH and area of specialization course has a competency plan ( E-resource : Competency assessment plan). The competency plan includes assessment and evaluation methods that serve the basis for monitoring whether students are achieving expected competencies (e.g., exams, assignments, papers, projects, and final course grades). Using the evaluation methods identified in the competency plans, faculty members meet once a semester (or more as needed) to assess student progress in mastering the core and area of specialization competencies (before the drop date and near the end of the semester).

Since 2010, MPH competencies have been assessed in two ways for each required and core course—by the course instructor and by student self- assessment. At the beginning of the semester, instructors of core and required courses provide students with a course competency plan, which describes the competencies covered in the course along with the topics, readings and assignments/assessments associated with each competency. Faculty use this plan throughout the semester so that students are familiar with it. A course competency survey was developed for each of the core and required courses in the program and is administered to students at the end of the semester. The survey lists each of the competencies for the course along with the sample topics, readings, and assignments related to that competency. Then, students are asked to rate their degree of proficiency with each competency on a scale from 1 = Very Poor to 5 = Excellent. In addition, the instructors conduct their own assessments of the course, reflecting on results from course assignments and tests and their observations throughout the semester regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the course. Upon reviewing the student’s self-assessment of competencies and/or based on their own course assessments, instructors determine how

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to address weaknesses. Competency assessment data from fall 2012 through fall 2014 for the core and required MPH courses are presented in the E-resource: Competencies: survey and results.

The internship preceptor completes a student evaluation based on competencies identified in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (see section 2.4 Practical Skills). In addition, students establish an MPH professional paper committee (see section 2.5) that evaluates students’ achievement of course- and student-identified competencies using a standard evaluation tool (E-resource: Competencies assessment tool). The evaluations are both qualitative and quantitative. Students must receive approval from their committee members that they have demonstrated in their final paper and presentation the ability to synthesize public health knowledge and apply it to the solution of public health problems.

Faculty members rated students’ oral presentations on eight different competencies using a scale from 1 = Needs Improvement to 10 = Excellent. For the professional paper, using the same 10-point scale, faculty rated students’ writing competency for each of seven parts of the paper, along with five additional competencies. From 2013 to 2015, mean professional paper ratings ranged from 8.7 to 9.0, while mean presentation scores ranged from 9.3 to 9.4 Professional paper and presentation competency assessment data are presented in E-resource: Culminating Experience: evaluation.

b. Outcome measures to identify student achievement.

The SCHS has defined a number of goals and objectives that serve as important outcomes measures for both the undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition to graduation in a defined period of time, additional outcome measures include maintaining GPA above 3.0 for both undergraduate and graduate students and having internship ratings of the students that are good or above. MPH student outcomes include successfully defending the professional paper in a timely manner, being involved in faculty research, and providing service to the community or university outside usual course work. Post-graduation outcomes for MPH students include successful employment, admittance into additional academic training, being in leadership positions and successfully taking the CPH examination. In addition, diversity outcomes are measured for both undergraduate and graduate students (see Table 1.8.1)

Graduation rates for the MPH degree follow a predictable pattern based on whether students are full time with an expectation to graduate in two years or whether they are part-time and take classes over years. All masters graduate students must complete their degrees in 6 years.

Table 2.7.1. Students in MPH Degree, By Cohorts Entering Between 2009-2010 and 2104-2015Maximum Time to Graduate = 6 years

Cohort of Students 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-152009-10 # Students entered 16

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 0# Students graduated 0Cumulative graduation rate 0.0%

2010-11 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year

16 16

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# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 4 0# Students graduated 9 3Cumulative graduation rate 56.2% 18.8%

2011-12 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year

3 13 16

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 0 3 1# Students graduated 2 6 0Cumulative graduation rate 68.8% 56.3% 0.0%

2012-13 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year

1 4 15 32

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 0 0 3 4# Students graduated 1 2 7 3Cumulative graduation rate 75.0% 68.8% 43.8% 9.4%

2013-14 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year

0 2 5 25 27

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 0 0 0 0 3# Students graduated 0 1 1 19 2Cumulative graduation rate 75.0% 75.0% 50.0% 68.8% 7.4%

2014-15 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year

0 1 4 6 22 32

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 0 0 0 0 0 0# Students graduated 0 1 2 3 13 4Cumulative graduation rate 75.0% 81.3% 62.5% 78.1% 55.6% 12.5%

Table 2.7.b

Outcome Measures Target 2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

Goal 1: “To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers, educators and leaders.”Objective 2: Education/Training2a. 90% of MPH students will receive grades of B- or higher in the MPH core and required courses ( first time they take the course)

90% 93% 93% 94%

2b. 60% of undergraduate CHS majors will have a GPA of 3.0 at graduation.

(New) By 2018

60%

71% 61% 60%

2c.By 2015, 95% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH professional paper.By 2018, 90% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH professional paper in the same semester during which they were enrolled in the Capstone course.

By 201595%

By 201890%

100% 96% 100%

2d. 30% of MPH students participate with faculty in research activities.

30% 58% 64% 49%

2e.By 2015, 75% of MPH students will be involved in leadership roles and/or providing service to the community or university.

By 2018, 60% of MPH students will be involved in providing service to the community or university, in addition to coursework, the internship or paid work.

By 201575%

By 201860%

68% 64% 45%

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2f. 90% of MPH students completing internships will be rated by their preceptors at “good” or above.

(New)By 2018

90%

-- -- 100%

2g. 75% of undergraduate students completing their internship will be rated at “good” or above.

(New)By 2018

75%

-- -- 95%

2h. 80% of MPH students will rate the quality of their internship as being “good” or above

(New)By 2018

80%

-- -- 100%

Objective 3: Graduation/Post-Graduation3a. 90% of full-time MPH students will complete their degree within 3 years of matriculation.

90% 100% 100% 93%

3b. By 2018, the 3 year graduation rate of juniors will be 75%. (New)By 2018

75%

Not availa

ble3c. 75% of recent MPH graduates will become employed in public health or settings closely related to their degree within 6 months of graduation.

75% 92% 93% TBD

3d. 5% of MPH graduates within the past year will be admitted to a program for further academic training (PhD, MD, etc.).

5% 0% 13% 23%

3e. 10% of MPH graduates will have local, regional or national leadership positions in public health.

10% 23% 20% TBD

3f. By 2018, 50% of employed UNR MPH graduates are located in Nevada.

By 201850%

64% 82% TBD

3g. By 2018, 20% of graduating students will take the CPH exam within one year of graduation.

(New)20%

-- 29% 9%

3h. By 2018, 80% of graduating students who take the CPH exam will pass it.

(New)80%

-- 100% 50%

3i. By 2018, 25% of CHS BS graduates will be tracked for post-graduation activities.

(New)25%

-- -- --

Undergraduate students in the CHS BS degree program often start UNR as “undecided” or in another degree program. In addition, the community colleges offer an AA degree in Community Health Sciences that is readily transferrable to UNR. Students who transfer into CHS may have a more prolonged undergraduate career to attain the required courses needed to graduate. The unprecedented growth at UNR affects the ability of students to enroll in required classes. There has been a concerted effort to prioritize admittance into CHS classes for seniors to complete their required courses in a timely fashion. To address the growth, additional budget allocations for faculty (full time and adjunct) were received over the last three years.

The standard measure for graduation success nationwide is 6 years and that is what is used in Template 2.7.1 for the BS degree. Few students declare their major as freshman so the information presented is not an accurate representation of graduation success in the school. Rates are only tracked from a cohort of freshman and do not include information on students who transfer into the major during their sophomore through senior years.

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Cohort of Students 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2014-15

2005-06 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year 21

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 8

# Students graduated 0

Cumulative graduation rate 0.00%

2006-07 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year 13 44

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 2 10

# Students graduated 0 0

Cumulative graduation rate 0.00% 0.00%

2007-08 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year 11 30 49

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 2 7 21

# Students graduated 0 0 0

Cumulative graduation rate 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

2008-09 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year 9 23 28 70

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 0 1 15 34

# Students graduated 2 0 0 0

Cumulative graduation rate 9.52% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

2009-10 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year 6 22 13 36 63

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 0 3 0 5 29

# Students graduated 5 5 0 0 0

Cumulative graduation rate 33.33% 11.36% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

2010-11 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year 1 14 13 31 34 62

# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 0 3 0 0 0 29

# Students graduated 1 9 0 0 0 0

Cumulative graduation rate 39.10% 31.81% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

2011-12 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year 4 10 28 25 33 130# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 4 11 2 10 17# Students graduated 1 6 0 0 0 0Cumulative graduation rate 34.09% 12.24% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

2012-13 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year 0 17 23 23 113 161# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 0 9 14 1 35 40# Students graduated 0 5 0 0 1 0

7 Cumulative graduation rate 12.24% 7.14% 0.00% 0.00% 0.70% 0.00%

2013-14 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year 3 9 22 77 121 78# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 0 2 8 19 39 26# Students graduated 0 3 2 1 0 0Cumulative graduation rate 7.14% 4.76% 3.25% 1.53% 0.00% 0.00%

2014-15 # Students continuing at beginning of this school year 4 12 57 82 52# Students withdrew, dropped, etc. 3# Students graduated 1 1 2 3 1Cumulative graduation rate 6.30% 4.83% 3.07% 1.86% 1.28%

Table 2.7.1. Students in BS Degree, By Cohorts Entering Between 2008-2009and 2014-2015

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Other measurements may provide some relevant information. For the last three years, we have information on the number of graduates, the time to graduation, graduating GPA and fall-to-fall retention.

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15Undergraduate degrees granted 141 148 186Undergraduate time to degree (yrs) 4.9 4.9 5.1Undergraduate GPA 3.19 3.13 3.10Undergraduate fall to fall retention rate (2nd -3rd year) 78% 85% 85%

To address the inability to track graduation success, the school will work with the Assessment office to create a better way to track this figure. Classic rates may not be useful given the influx of students into the major in their later years of college. The new student tracking system may assist with this.

Template 2.7.2 Destination of MPH Graduates by Employment Type

2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014Employed 19 90.5% 10 71.4% 17 77.3%Continuing education/training (not employed) 1 4.8% 3 21.4% 5 22.7%Actively seeking employment 1 4.8% 1 7.1% 0 0Not seeking employment (not employed and not continuing education/training, by choice)

0 0 0 0 0 0

Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0Total 21 14 22

Template 2.7.2 Destination of BS Graduates by Employment Type

2000-2012 combined

n=282

UNR comparison

n=13728

Employed 202 72% 10,880

79%

Continuing education/training (not employed) 65 23% 1922 14%

Actively seeking employment 5 1.5% 544 4%

Not seeking employment (not employed and not continuing education/training, by choice)

10 3.5% 347 2.5%

Unknown 0 0 37 .5%

Total 282 13,728

Undergraduate employment information has been difficult to track. UNR has conducted an alumni survey since 2001. Data for CHS is limited but does provide some insight into comparative experiences for CHS compared to UNR. Alumni surveys do not reach many graduated students primarily because of

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the difficulty of finding graduates after they leave UNR. One strategy just implemented by UNR is that students can keep their unr.edu email address after they leave. This may improve the ability to track graduates. The faculty added the development of a SCHS undergraduate tracking system to the goals and objectives in 2015.

c. Job placement data collection

An online survey of the current years’ MPH graduates is conducted each fall three to five months following graduation. The graduate survey includes questions about the graduate’s employment or continuing education status, employment sector, employer and location. Additionally, graduates are asked to evaluate the quality of the MPH program, including the faculty, courses, strengths, and challenges. A graduate employment update survey is administered to MPH graduates a year after graduation. This brief survey includes questions about the graduate’s employment or continuing education status, employment sector, and location. MPH graduate job placement data is derived from these two surveys and supplemented with employment information that faculty members have received directly from graduates who did not complete the surveys.

Of the 2012 MPH graduates, 19 of 21 completed the graduate survey yielding a 90% response rate. The 2013 graduate survey was completed by 13 of 14 graduates in fall 2013 for a 93% response rate. A survey of 2014 MPH graduates was administered online in fall 2014 and completed by 15 of 22 graduates for a 68% response rate. The employment update survey for 2014 graduates is ongoing currently in fall 2015. Final results of the 2014 graduate employment update survey will be updated prior to the spring 2016 site visit.

In fall 2012, 97 MPH alumni were invited to complete an online survey, which included items relating to their employment status, sector, location, employer, and their scholarship, service and leadership related to public health. Of the 97 invited, 39 completed the survey for a 40% response rate (46% response rate after adjusting for 12 invalid email addresses). Most of the respondents (84%) were employed; 13% were pursuing further education; while one respondent (3%) was not employed. The majority 70% of employed respondents were located in the state of Nevada; and, 6% in other Intermountain West states (Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, or New Mexico). The highest percentages of respondents were employed in the government and healthcare sectors.

The UNR alumni survey has been conducted by phone interviews. A sample of graduates is contacted and a standardized script is used to collect the data. The study size has been limited. For the last two years there have been no respondents from SCHS (due in part to the changes in assessment activities at UNR). The full survey can be seen in the E-resource : Surveys section.

d. Graduate certification performance

The MPH graduates have begun to take the CPH exam. For the last two years seven students have taken the test and 5 have passed. Students who did not pass took the test prior to finishing their courses. Students are being encouraged to take this test after they graduate.

Our BS degree is not associated with any national credentialing at this point.

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e. Employed graduates performance

Combining responses from 2011 through 2014 MPH graduate survey respondents, on a scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree, 92% of MPH graduates agreed or strongly agreed that “overall, the MPH Program advanced my career objectives.” Graduate survey respondents also were asked to indicate, on a scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree, the extent to which they agreed that each of the six core courses gave them a solid foundation in public health principles. Mean ratings across the courses from 2011-2014 graduate survey respondents ranged from 3.2 to3.8

Graduate survey comments about the strengths of the MPH program also provide evidence of how the program has prepared alumni to perform competencies in the employment setting.

“Overall, the MPH program had many strengths. Here are my top 3. First, most of the classes provided me with the information I needed to succeed in the field of public health. Second, there were many opportunities that allowed me to show my skills and abilities (GAships, GSPH, recruiting, etc.), which opened many doors. Third (and probably the most important), the professors and faculty cared about the students and were willing to provide as much guidance and help as needed (as long as the students are willing to work).”

“[The program has] made huge steps to ensure the graduates of the MPH program have all the opportunity available to succeed after graduation.”

“Overall I have learned so much and have honestly felt prepared for my next academic research opportunity.”

“The field experience was the best learning experience. Also, the electives taught by professionals in the field gave me the most real-life lessons that have benefited me to this day in my public health profession. Plus, advisers/professors who really wanted their students to learn and were involved often gave the best learning opportunities to my cohort.”

“This program gave me a strong research foundation. The skills that I learned in the MPH Program have already enabled me to contribute to large-scale changes in our community.”

An MPH alumni survey was conducted online in 2012 with the primary purpose of collecting MPH employment data. While alumni were not specifically asked about their ability to perform competencies in an employment survey, one comment from survey respondent relates to that topic,

“The internship gave me the experience needed to capture a great/amazing first job.”

The UNR alumni survey asks employers for their assessment of the importance of selected skills and how well UNR graduates were able to demonstrate those skills. Overall, respondents felt that CHS graduates were well-prepared and covered skill sets they felt were important to their work. (see full undergraduate alumni survey in E-resources) Ratings in all categories were above 60% for very well prepared. In particular, employers felt CHS students were very prepared to consider ethical behavior in their work (90%) and being comfortable in diverse environments (83%).

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f. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.

This criteria is met with Commentary.

Strengths: There is well-developed system to track the graduation rates and destinations of MPH students.

Graduates are active participants in the surveys. Weaknesses:

The UNR alumni and employer surveys are done annually but the number of responses has always been small. It is difficult to identify themes that will help change the curriculum.

Specific data about the ability of MPH graduates to perform competencies in an employment setting, including information from periodic assessments of alumni, employers and other relevant stakeholders is lacking.

Plans:

Faculty are developing a survey to send to employers of the MPH program’s graduates and revising the alumni survey in order to better assess this criterion.

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2.8 Bachelor’s Degrees in Public Health. a. Bachelor of Science coursework.

The BS in Community Health Sciences degree requires 120 credits for graduation. The program has UNR core requirements as well as specific requirements for the two emphases in kinesiology or public health. The coursework that is required can be seen in the link below and covers courses in SCHS as well as other units on campus to ensure a well-rounded education.

b. Offficial curriculum and catalog forms

The BS degree requires 120 credits and includes a practicum experience. The catalog explaining the degree programs and instructional matrix with course requirements and descriptions is found at:

Public Health emphasis: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5721Website information: http://dhs.unr.edu/Documents/dhs/chs/academics/CHS-Public-Health-Major-2014.pdf

Kinesiology emphasis: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5448Website information: http://dhs.unr.edu/Documents/dhs/chs/academics/CHS-Kinesiology-Major-2014.pdf

c. Template K matrix: Experiences that ensure introduction to domains

DOMAINS Courses and other learning experiences through which students are introduced to the domains specified

Science: Introduction to the foundations of scientific knowledge, including the biological and life sciences and the concepts of health and disease CHS 102, CHS 200; Gen Ed Core Science;

Social and Behavioral Sciences: Introduction to the foundations of social and behavioral sciences CHS 101, CHS 102, CHS 473; Gen Ed Core Social Science

Math/Quantitative Reasoning: Introduction to basic statistics CHS 280, CHS 473; Gen Ed Core Math

Humanities/Fine Arts: Introduction to the humanities/fine arts Gen Ed Core Humanities and Core Fine Arts

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d. Template L matrix: Exposure to domains

CHS Undergraduate Core

PUBLIC HEALTH DOMAINS Course Name and Number

CHS 101, Intro PH

CHS 102, Pers H&W

CHS 200, PH Biology

CHS 280, Biostats

CHS 473, Epi

CHS 4xx Cap-stone

CHS 494 Field Studies

Overview of Public Health: Address the history and philosophy of public health as well as its core values, concepts, and functions across the globe and in society

Public Health History  C  CPublic Health Philosophy  I  C  CCore PH Values  C  CCore PH Concepts  I  CGlobal Functions of Public Health  C  C  CSocietal Functions of Public Health  I  C  C

Role and Importance of Data in Public Health: Address the basic concepts, methods, and tools of public health data collection, use, and analysis and why evidence-based approaches are an essential part of public health practice

Basic Concepts of Data Collection I I  C  CBasic Methods of Data Collection I I  C  CBasic Tools of Data Collection I  C  CData Usage I C  C  CData Analysis  C  CEvidence-based Approaches I C  C  C

Identifying and Addressing Population Health Challenges: Address the concepts of population health, and the basic processes, approaches, and interventions that identify and address the major health-related needs and concerns of populations

Population Health Concepts  I  I  C  CIntroduction to Processes and Approaches to Identify Needs and Concerns of Populations  I  I  C  C  CIntroduction to Approaches and Interventions to Address Needs and Concerns of Populations  I  I  C  C  C

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Human Health: Address the underlying science of human health and disease including opportunities for promoting and protecting health across the life course

Science of Human Health and Disease  C  C  CHealth Promotion  C  I  C  CHealth Protection  C  I  C

Determinants of Health: Address the socio-economic, behavioral, biological, environmental, and other factors that impact human health and contribute to health disparities

Socio-economic Impacts on Human Health and Health Disparities  I  C  CBehavioral Factors Impacts on Human Health and Health Disparities  I  C  CBiological Factors Impacts on Human Health and Health Disparities  I  C  C  CEnvironmental Factors Impacts on Human Health and Health Disparities  I  C  C

Project Implementation: Address the fundamental concepts and features of project implementation, including planning, assessment, and evaluation

Introduction to Planning Concepts and Features  CIntroduction to Assessment Concepts and Features  CIntroduction to Evaluation Concepts and Features  C

Overview of the Health System: Address the fundamental characteristics and organizational structures of the U.S. health system as well as to the differences in systems in other countries

Characteristics and Structures of the U.S. Health System  I  I  CComparative Health Systems  I  C

Health Policy, Law, Ethics, and Economics: Address the basic concepts of legal, ethical, economic, and regulatory dimensions of health care and public health policy, and the roles, influences and responsibilities of the different agencies and branches of government

Legal dimensions of health care and public  I

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health policyEthical dimensions of health care and public health policy  IEconomical dimensions of health care and public health policy  IRegulatory dimensions of health care and public health policy  CGovernmental Agency Roles in health care and public health policy  I

Health Communications: Address the basic concepts of public health-specific communication, including technical and professional writing and the use of mass media and electronic technology

Technical writing  CProfessional writing  C  CUse of Mass Media  IUse of Electronic Technology  I C

KeyI – Introduced C-covered

e. Template M matrix: Experiences that guide students to demonstrate skills.

SkillsCourses and other learning experiences through which students demonstrate the following skills.

Methods by which these skills are assessed.

Public Health Communication: Students should be able to communicate public health information, in both oral and written forms and through a variety of media, to diverse audiences

Oral communication CHS 494 & Capstone course Course assignments and activitiesWritten communication CHS 494 & Capstone course Course assignments and activitiesCommunicate with diverse audiences CHS 494 & Capstone course Course assignments and activitiesCommunicate through variety of media CHS 494 & Capstone course Course assignments and activities

Information Literacy: Students should be able to locate, use, evaluate, and synthesize information

Locate information  CHS 101, 211, 473, Capstone  Course assignments and activitiesUse information  CHS 101, 211, 473, Capstone  Course assignments and activitiesEvaluate information  CHS 101, 211, 473, Capstone  Course assignments and activitiesSynthesize information  CHS 101, 211, 473, Capstone  Course assignments and activities

Note: CHS students have experiential opportunities in several courses. These culminate with the required Capstone course (CHS offers 9 topics) and the Field Studies course in which students master integration and synthesis (Core Objective 13) and application of concepts (Core Objective 14).

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f. Template N matrix: Cumulative and experiential activities to integrate, synthesize and apply knowledge.

Cumulative and Experiential Activity (internships, research papers, service-learning projects, etc.)

Narrative describing how activity provides students the opportunity to integrate, synthesize and apply knowledge.

CHS 4xx Capstone Course Paper

The capstone course (required university-wide) assigns a significantly weighted project paper that integrates concepts from across the core curriculum and knowledge from the major.

CHS 494 Field Study - Internship

Create public health learning objectives for internship and complete these through 100 hours of internship experience. Present experience in poster session and with video.

Other courses with service learning

Various courses have service-learning units within; ex. CHS 360 Disability Issues

g. Template O: Curriculum exposes students to concepts of public health

Concept Manner in which the curriculum and co-curricular experiences expose students to the concepts

Advocacy for protection and promotion of the public’s health at all levels of society

PED 466, CHS 360, CHS 310, CHS 421, Capstones

Community dynamics PED 466, CHS 360, CHS 362, CHS 494Critical thinking and creativity CHS 211, CapstonesCultural contexts in which public health professionals work

PED 466, CHS 360, CHS 345

Ethical decision making as related to self and society

PED 466, PED 391, CHS 345

Independent work and a personal work ethic

PED 466, PED 391, CHS 494

Networking CHS 345, CHS 494Organizational dynamics CHS 360, CHS 340, CapstonesProfessionalism CHS 345, CHS 360, CHS 494Research methods CHS 473Systems thinking CHS 340, PED 466, CHS 360Teamwork and leadership CHS 310, PED 391, CHS 494

h. Syllabi for all required coursework. See E-resource, Syllabi: Undergraduate courses

i. Examples of student work. See E-resource, Undergraduate Assessment

j. Cumulative and field exposure experiences.

Practical public health skill development is also an integral part of the undergraduate program. CHS 494: Field Studies in Public Health requires all student to complete 100 hours (3 credit hours) of unpaid professional work experience on a public health project for which the student is independently responsible during their senior year of the program. Internship participation is required for all undergraduate students. Students are responsible for locating and arranging their own internship experience with support from the internship coordinator. CHS 494 is offered on campus during the fall and spring semester and is offered internationally during winter and summer semesters.

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The internship coordinator maintains ongoing communication with former site preceptors to facilitate new student placements and partnerships in state and local health departments and community agencies, and continuously works to foster new community relationships with potential preceptors in order to develop further student opportunities. Potential internship preceptor/project recruitment letters are sent out to community partners two months prior to the upcoming semester (fall/spring). Responses from this recruitment solicitation are compiled into a list that is communicated to students via WebCampus resources prior to the start of each semester.

Once a site and preceptor are arranged, the student and preceptor complete: the CHS 494 Internship Agreement (similar to a Memorandum of Understanding) and a Project Management Plan. The preceptor is also provided with a Supervisor Handbook with essential aspects of the course clearly outlined. Internship emphasis is placed on developing an experience that will provide the student with opportunities to: enhance skills learned during coursework and develop new skills and experiences in which the student will be working in a professional capacity. Students complete the course using a service learning model incorporating the three main areas of: Knowledge, Action, and Reflection. All student assignments relate to one of these three key areas to enhance the student learning experience. Students have the opportunity to network through the Making Health Happen Seminar Series and the opportunity to present their work through a professional poster presentation and through a final student film presentation.

k. Documentation: handbooks, files, and instructions E-resource: Practical/internship experience: undergraduate internship

l. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.

This criteria is met.

Strengths: We have been graduating students from a Bachelor of Science program with a strong public

health philosophy grounded in the ecological approach to population health for two decades.

Graduates often find careers in public health and various other health professions. Our campus now requires measurable student learning outcomes of all courses and

programs, and the Community Health Sciences B.S. program intentionally aligned its program SLOs and course SLOs with nationally recognized public health competencies during the transition.

Weaknesses:

The assessment plan is the last piece of the campus transition to best practice in curriculum development. The faculty curriculum committee was charged with assessment while the university assessment office lost resources during the recession and budget crisis. The original assessment plan was to pick a competency and assess it before moving on to other competencies. Effective writing was the competency selected. There were vastly different

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assignments and levels of writing competency. What some faculty viewed as competent, others did no. It because less about meeting writing competencies and more about creating a clear vision of effective writing. With the loss of support from the institution, this was dropped. Other assessment surveys were piloted with varying success. Those experiences have informed the plans for assessment.

Plans: Our undergraduate advising office has expanded its staff capacity recently to keep up with the

campus growth. Also, at present the university assessment office has a reinvigorated mission and abundant support for faculty in the disciplines. An improved assessment plan is being implemented to evaluate student learning outcomes. We plan student assessment surveys three times during the curriculum progression, and the central university office can keep track of specifically identified students by name. This new assessment philosophy and procedure, not unlike the ongoing assessment already in place for the masters program, will allow the faculty to focus on continuous quality improvement while teaching.

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2.9 Academic Degrees: Not at this time 2.10 Doctoral Degrees: Not at this time

2.11 Joint Degrees.

a. Joint degree programs

The Orvis School of Nursing and the School of Community Health Sciences offer a dual degree MSN/MPH program. The dual degree program prepares BS/RN nurses to draw upon advanced knowledge and a variety of skills to define, critically assess, diagnose, and collaborate with communities to plan care and resolve public health problems. The program includes academic and clinical practice preparation for nurse practitioners delivering primary health care in public health settings.

Both degrees when completed separately are two-year degrees. Students in the combined program can complete the plan of study in less time than it takes to earn each degree separately. Students enroll in courses in Nursing and Public Health each semester to enhance interdisciplinary learning and practice. Students complete the core courses in both the public health and nursing program; however, there is some overlap.

Admission requirements to the MPH/MSN program include those set by both programs. Students must apply to both programs separately, then be admitted to each of them before embarking on the dual program. http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5466

For the MD/MPH student, there is an accelerated one-year program of study, with the field studies and capstone course following in year two. There is some flexibility offered for the initiation of the MPH curriculum.

There is a 6-unit overlap with the medical students in their clinical rotations which will have a public health emphasis and therefore may be used for their MPH internship credits. Upon completion of the clinical rotations, the students will return for the following spring semester to complete their MPH capstone course. Apart from the 6-unit overlap, MD/MPH students are required to complete all other requirements just like other MPH students, and to demonstrate attainment of all identified public health competencies. http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5474

This year the MPH program was expanded to include Family Medicine and Internal Medicine residents who wished to complete their MPH during their residencies. This is a 3-year program that incorporates MPH classes during the second through fourth years of the residency program. Progression of classes is dependent on the emphasis chosen by the residents. An example of student progression is seen in the E-resource: Joint degrees.

b. Differences from standard degree program.

The MSN/MPH dual degree is currently undergoing revision and there have been no enrollees in the last 3 years. The primary reason for this is that both degrees require full course work without allowing any

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substitution (ie. taking nursing epidemiology class in addition to CHS epidemiology class). Students cannot complete both degrees in three years. There is new interest in exploring the MSN/MPH degree again in the context of newer MSN requirements.

The MD/MPH dual degree requires medical students to take all of the required courses for their specialization. The only credit sharing is done for the internship experience. Courses have been designated as meeting the public health requirement for content as well as the medical content. If students identify a unique experience, an evaluation is done by the internship coordinator/advisor to ensure that the experience meets the public health requirements and competencies before accepting the experience as fulfilling the internship experience.

c. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.

This criteria is met.

Strengths: There is a clear description and procedure for dual degree students to enroll and commence

their program. The mix of MD/medical students and nursing students with MPH students has been

invigorating and has enhanced student participation.

Weaknesses and Plans: For students who did not go directly into their residencies after completing medical school

and enrolled in the MPH, the decision about what classes to count from their medical education were more complicated. The faculty are considering whether these students should be enrolled in the MPH as a dual degree. The graduate committee will be discussing and voting on this.

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3.0. Creation, Application and Advancement of Knowledge

3.1 Research

a. Supporting research and scholarly activityAll of the tenure- and research-track faculty members affiliated with the Program are involved in research. Tenure-track faculty typically dedicate 40% effort to research during the academic year and often do more research during the summer months. Research-track faculty devote a larger proportion of their time to research, usually 50-90%, depending on funding and other duties.

The norm for most members of the faculty is to conduct empirical research. This typically requires grant support and results in publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. However, there is considerable variation reflecting the range of academic disciplines that make up the program and the backgrounds of individual faculty members, as shown in table 3.1.1. Much of the research conducted by the faculty involves graduate students, typically acting as research assistants. Student research is addressed in more detail in 3.1.e.

For the faculty as a group, both production of scholarly publications and grant support have varied over the last 5 years. The difficulty of successfully competing for federal grants, the sizable increase in students in the SCHS and increase in teaching load to 2:3, and the retirement/transfer of senior, research active faculty all contributed to a downturn in funded research and fewer publications. However, in the past two years, with the increase in the number of faculty and a reduction in teaching load to 2:2, the number of grants and publications has increased. This trend is a result of increasing average individual productivity, as well as increasing numbers of newly hired experienced research active faculty.

Research support is obtained from various federal, state, university and foundation sources, with federal grants and state contracts accounting for the largest amounts of funding. Recent funding sources include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Nevada State Health Division, National Institutes of Health and the California Cancer Research Program. A number of these projects are community based; these are described in detail in 3.1.1.

Faculty involvement in research is highly valued by the School and by the university. Faculty members regularly enter their research accomplishments, including publications, presentations, grant applications, and grant and contract awards into the university’s online database (Digital Measures). Research productivity, along with teaching and service is assessed in both annual evaluations of individual performance and recommendations for merit pay. Evaluations emphasize the importance of scholarship and specifically encourage activities that contribute to public health knowledge. Evaluations for promotion and tenure also consider research: excellence in research is one of the bases for promotion and granting of tenure.

Faculty research is supported in several other ways. The standard teaching load for most tenure-track faculty members at the University of Nevada, Reno is three courses per semester. However, faculty in research-intensive programs (usually those with doctoral degrees) have a reduced load of two courses

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per semester. Similarly, faculty in the School of Community Health Sciences normally teach two courses per semester to facilitate greater engagement in research. Newly-hired faculty members receive start-up funds and are granted reduced teaching responsibilities to help them establish a research program. The amount of start-up support varies with the discipline and is currently provided by the Vice President for Research and Innovation with additional needs funded by the vice president for DHS and the SCHS. The School of Community Health Sciences also assigns state-supported graduate assistants to junior faculty members to help with research. Additional resources for SCHS faculty include the ability to apply for pilot grant funds to the CTR-IN (Clinical and Translational Research-Infrastructure Network) and the INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence) programs. These two programs are statewide and funded by the NIH to increase the research capacity of states with low numbers of federal grants. Two associate professors have completed INBRE funding and their pilot projects are currently being published and proposals for federal support are in process.

The university also encourages research with several types of financial incentives. A 7.75% share of indirect cost receipts is returned to externally-funded investigators; these funds are deposited in a university account and may be used at the investigator’s discretion for professional needs, such as books, travel, conference registration and student support. Academic faculty on nine-month contracts may use salary support from grants to fund overload on non-contracted days, most of which occur during the summer. Overload is compensated at the faculty member’s daily rate (equal to academic year salary divided by the number of contracted days). The number of days available for overload is slightly less than half of the number of contracted days, so faculty members with sufficient grant funds can increase their salaries substantially by conducting funded research during the summer.

b. Research collaborationThe school is committed to community based research and has a number of projects with most ‐providing opportunities for student involvement. This research is sponsored by federal and state organizations including the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services Innovation Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Health, and the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health(NDPBH). The primary community partner is the NDPBH and ongoing and important research is done throughout the state. The outcomes from this research inform policy and resource distribution to support prevention and other public health services. For purposes of determining research vs. service, the following definition wasused. “Research: All research and development activities that are sponsored by Federal and non-Federal agencies and organizations. This term includes activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques (commonly called research training) where such activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development activities and where such activities are not included in the instructional function. “The community collaborations provide a way for faculty to collect data and evaluate program outcomes. Many of these research partnerships have existed for years.

The school is also home to the Nevada Center for Health Statistics and Survey which has formal agreements for community-based research with the NDPBH to conduct and analyze the Behavioral Risk Factor Survey and the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey. Primary data collection is an important function of the SCHS faculty and provide objective information for state decision making.

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c. Faculty Research

Table 3.1.c :Research Activity from 2013 to 2015

Project Name Principal Investigator & Department (for schools) or Concentration (for programs)

Funding Source

Funding Period Start/End

Amount Total Award

Amount 2013-2014

Amount 2014-2015

Amount 2015-2016

Community-Based Y/N

Student Participation Y/N

Nevada Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS)

Wei Yang, EPI (PI)Kristen Clements-Nolle, EPI (Co-PI)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through Nevada State Health Division

December 2012-December 2013

$60,000 $60,000 Y Y

REMSA: CMS Innovation Grant

Trudy Larson, HAP (PI)Wei Yang, EPI (Co-PI)

CMS/REMSA

June 30, 2013- December 31, 2015

$280,000 $100,000 $100,000 $80,000 Y Y

Nevada High School, Middle and Tribal School YRBS

Wei Yang, EPI (PI)Kristen Clements-Nolle, EPI (Co-PI)

CDC PS13-1308 and supplemental funding from NDPBH

January 2013-July 2018

$1,500.000 $300,000 $300,000 $300,000 Y Y

Screening for Adverse Childhood Experience Among Juvenile Offenders

James Kenyon, School of Medicine (PI)Kristen Clements-Nolle, EPI (Co-PI)

NIH/NV INBRE

July 2013-June 2015

$150,000 $75,000 $75,000 N Y

Implementation Science in Prevention of Maternal-Child HIV Transmission (PMTCT)-Ro1

Echezona Ezeanolue, School of Medicine (PI)Wei Yang, EPI (Co-PI)Kristen Clements-Nolle, EPI (Supporting)Minggen Lu, EPI (Supporting)Trudy Larson, HAP (Supporting)

NIH September 2012- December 2013

444,836 5494 -- -- N N

Real-World Vehicle Emission Characterization for the Shing Mun Tunnel in Hong Kong and Ft. McHenry Tunnel in the US

Xiaoliang Wang (PI)Minggen Lu, EPI (Supporting)

HEI October , 2014-September 2016

$649,912 -- 1998 1998 N N

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Dietary and Environmental Exposure to Cadmium and the Risk of Endometrial Cancer

Rudolf Rull, EPI (PI)

Cancer Prevention Institute of California

June 18, 2012-April 30, 2014

$105,470 $71,198.51 -- -- N Y

Cadmium, Age at Menarche, and Early Pubertal Development in Girls

Rudolf Rull, EPI (PI)

Cancer Prevention Institute of California

July 1, 2012- December 31, 2013

$35,461.36 35461.36 -- -- N N

Sex/Drug Tourism at the US/Mexico Border: Social Network Influences on HIV Risk

Karla Wagner, SBH (PI)

NIH/NIDA September 1, 2014 – August 31, 2016

$322,198.19 -- 176,310 145,888.19 N Y

Networks and normative influences on sex and drug-related HIV risk in black women

Karla Wagner, SBH (PI)

NIH/NIDA May 1, 2015-September 30, 2019

$404,611 -- -- 101,150 Y Y

State and county level income inequality and infant mortality risk: The moderating role of race and socioeconomic status

Roman Pabayo, EPI (PI)Wei Yang, EPI (Co-PI)

NIH July 27, 2015-June 30, 2018

$439,110 -- -- 156,326 N Y

Nevada Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance (YRBS) System

Wei Yang, EPI (PI)Veronica Dahir, CRDA (Co-PI)

CDC through NDPBH and supplemental funding from NDPBH

September 2014-January 2019

$1,175,000 $235,000 $235,000 $235,000 Y Y

Nevada Baby Birth Evaluation and Assessment of Risk Survey

Wei Yang (PI)Veronica Dahir, CRDA (Co-PI)

NDPBH March 2014-November 2015

$136,929 $136,929 Y Y

Statistical Core for Clinical and Translational Research Infrastructure Network (IDeA-CTR)

Wei Yang, EPI (PI)

NIH/U54 August , 2013-July 2018

$285,037.80 $43,070.07 $57,008.00 $57,008.00 Y Y

Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), Neuro-Science

Michael Webster, Psychology (PI)Wei Yang, EPI Supporting, as the Population-based Core Director)

DHHS-NIH-NIGMS

September , 2012-August 2018

$9,895,950 7194.99 3393.35 0 N

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Nevada Leadership in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

Stephen Rock, Education (PI)Wei Yang, EPI (Supporting)

HRSA July 2011-June 2016

$2,541,670 10,736 11,516 6854.50 y

Comparative Effectiveness of Congregation and Facility-based Approaches: Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission (PMTCT)

Echezona Ezeanolue, School of Medicine (PI)Wei Yang, EPI (Supporting)

NIH R01 September 2012-August 2015

$1,345,617 5000 5000 5000 N

Resident and Preceptor Education in Nutrition and Cancer

Judith Ashley (PI)Wei Yang, EPI (Supporting)

NIH July , 2008-June 2014

$1,497,875 20,000 -- -- N

Colorectal cancer FIT Mailing Study

Paul Devereux, SBH (PI)

Renown Health Foundation

January 2015-December 2015

$26,353 $12,940 $13,413 Y Y

Well Women Guidelines

Daniel Spogen (PI)Michelle Granner, SBH (Supporting)Jaren Blake (Supporting)Catherine McCarthy (Supporting)Stephanie Wright (Supporting)

State of Nevada Attorney General

Sept 2015-March 2017

$355, 508 10,500 N Y

Health disparities among minority and underserved women

Patricia Sharpe (PI)Michelle Granner, SBH (Supporting)

NIH-NIDDK August 2007-July 2013

$2,713,230 0 Y N

NARCH VII: Dissemination and Implementation to Reduce American Indian/Alaska Native Health Disparities Project

Julie Lucero (PI)

NARCH-IHS-NIGMS-NCI

Sept 2013-Sept 2018

$475,000 $95,000 Y

Totals 5,395,170 968,154 1,115,094 938,138

Only SCHS primary faculty grants added in total grant award column. Other columns include support for faculty from other grants (in italics). Awards do not equal expenditures (represented in the financial report)

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d. Measures for evaluating researchThe Program has established specific goals and objectives by which research success is measured. The four objectives assessing peer-reviewed publication, conference presentations, grant submissions, and grant awards are tracked annually using data submitted by the faculty via the Digital Measures database described previously. Data on the amount of grant awards are supplemented by information from the University Office of Sponsored Projects. Table 3.1.dGoal 2: “To develop the knowledge base for public health through research.”Objectives:1. 60% of faculty will publish one article in a peer-reviewed journal per year.

60% 69% 58% 71%

2. 70% of faculty will present research results at one scientific conference per year.

70% 70% 92% 71%

3. 70% of faculty will submit one proposal for grant funding per year.

70% 71% 64% 89%

4a.Total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015 (2010-2011 baseline=$16,334/faculty FTE)Over three years (by 2018), the total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.

5% increase from baselin

e

$10,191/FTE38%

decrease from

baseline

$19,121/FTE17%

increase from

baseline

$32,287/FTE98%

increase from

baseline4b.Number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015Over three years (by 2018), the number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.

5% increase from baselin

e

1.4/FTE 1.2/FTE 1.2/FTE

Other measures of research success are evaluated annually for individual faculty members. The indicators considered in annual evaluations of research activity are directed primarily toward scholarly publication and grant support. For publication, the number and types of scholarly publications, the faculty member’s role as an author, and, for journal articles, the journals in which they appear are considered. Some faculty members contribute to public health reports or other professional documents, and these are also considered in performance evaluations. The impact of publications is difficult to assess in the short-term, but narrative evidence of impact, such as influence in science or policy-making is considered when available. Highly-cited papers and particularly influential ones are noted in evaluations for promotion and tenure where the longer time span facilitates evaluating the impact of publications.

Grant support is considered in faculty evaluations. All faculty members are encouraged to pursue external research support, while recognizing that there is considerable variation among disciplines in the need for research support and the amounts likely to be obtained. The magnitude of grant awards is considered to be less important than success in securing the funds needed to support a high-quality research program. The Personal/Promotion and Tenure committee recommended recent changes in

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the measurement strategies for scholarly work in the SCHS. These changes help quantify the importance of publication and grant writing for the yearly evaluation process.

e. Description of student involvement in research.

At UNR, student research is supported by the Office of Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Research, the Honors program, and by individual college and school’s programs. A number of grants support undergraduate research and can be used by students in any discipline. There is ready assistance at http://environment.unr.edu/undergraduateresearch/ to help students find faculty and opportunities as well as resources to make them successful in the research process.

In the SCHS, undergraduate research is supported by a number of initiatives from faculty. One faculty member took students to Bangladesh on two different occasions and taught them to survey the population and take biological samples and water samples to identify arsenic impacts. The students learned important research skills and are now participating in the analysis of the findings. Other undergraduate students have participated in community education programs and conducted evaluations. SCHS faculty have participated as mentors for the Honors program to provide needed assistance to undergraduate students doing a thesis project.

Goal 1: Objective 2. Education/Training Target 2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

2d. 30% of MPH students participate with faculty in research activities.

30% 58% 64% 49%

Graduate student involvement in developing new public health knowledge is a priority of the Program. The opportunity to be involved in research and scholarly publication is an important component of graduate training, allowing students to practice skills they learn in the classroom. (E-resource: Research: students)

The faculty provide many opportunities for students for scholarly work, through independent work and in a faculty partnership mentoring capacity. Research training of graduate students is accomplished by performing well in graduate courses that include curriculum on research methods, analysis, implementation (to name a few) and by the mentoring relationship with a faculty member when the graduate student is a research assistant. Master’s professional projects may also involve research.

Many MPH students gain research experience through formal research assistantships. Graduate research assistants are involved in all phases of research and carry out a wide variety of activities, such as:

Collecting data by administering surveys, interviews, or running research protocols Coding and entering data into a spreadsheet or statistical analysis program Conducting literature reviews and document research Developing and proposing new research ideas and IRB applications Participating in the methodological development of a research project, including study designs,

modeling and statistical inference.

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Using computer skills such as word processing, spreadsheet, scheduling and statistical analysis software

Participating in preparation of submissions for local or regional conferences and, if accepted, working on poster or oral presentations for professional conferences

Participating in preparing a manuscript to submit the results of your collaborative research to a scientific journal

Mentorship and research assistantships also allow the student to work one-on-one with a faculty member, enabling the student to gain skills and knowledge that aren't easily learned in the classroom, such as research attitude and generation of research ideas. The extent of inclusion of students into faculty research is documented in Table 3.1.1.

f. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans

This criteria is met.

Strengths: Research active faculty are very productive. New faculty are bringing in grants. This is fueling

the increase in revenue and in papers being presented and published.

Weaknesses and Plans: There is insufficient infrastructure to support the details of producing grants and providing

real time grants management services. We have requested an additional staff member to take over the grants management activities and become a liaison to the Office of sponsored projects.

There are difficulties in managing contracts with the state that results in delayed notice of awards and difficult timelines to spend funds and complete deliverables. The OSPA is in negotiation with the state to provide a standard process for grant awards and F&A costs.

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3.2 Service

a. Service activities

As a land grant university, UNR maintains a commitment to community and public service programs through dissemination of knowledge to the community, collaboration with the public and private sectors, and provision of assistance to state and local governments. The most recent UNR strategic plan

emphasizes the importance of engagement with our community

From the UNR strategic plan: Theme 3: Engagement: Strengthen the social, economic, and environmental well -being of Nevada citizens, communities, organizations, and governments through community outreach and reciprocal partnerships

Goal 1: Develop and adopt a unified concept and vision for the University’s public engagement and land-grant mission.

•Recognize and highlight the public engagement of faculty across resident instruction, research, and Extension.

Metrics Goal 1:Create additional awards for community engagement Report by June 30, 2015

Develop a mechanism for tracking partnerships between on-campus education programs and community -based programs

Report by June 30, 2015

Recognize community engagement in tenure and promotion Report by June 30, 2015

The university is working towards a Carnegie “Engaged University” status as part of the implementation of the strategic plan.

The UNR Division of Health Sciences (DHS) mission statement also illustrates a commitment to service; “[DHS] is tied together by the need to find solutions for and help people towards improving their health and well-being through education, research, clinical care and public service”

The mission of the School of Community Health Sciences, “Develop, disseminate, and apply knowledge with an ecological approach to protect and promote the health of populations” highlights a commitment to service, and one of our five core values is “succeeding through collaboration”. Goals adopted by SCHS demonstrate our commitment to engaging in professional and scholarly service and contributing to positive changes in the health of Nevadans. Our mission, vision and goals are satisfied through numerous activities and commitments of the CHS faculty and are supported through the university’s and school’s encouragement and expectations of both faculty and student involvement in service activities.

Two of the CHS goals, “To be recognized for leadership in public health” and “To engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service” provide context to the types of service that the SCHS believe is important. Service on regional and national committees, both research focused and

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professional associations, is valued by the school and the university. Professional memberships are valued and leadership positions are recognized as an important way the CHS faculty can serve a broader audience.

SCHS houses three centers that have ongoing partnerships and contracts with community organizations and agencies. The Center for Program Evaluation and the Nevada Center for Health Statistics & Survey Support are primarily involved in research and evaluation but their projects provide important service to agencies. Examples include state-wide needs assessments for behavioral health services and Women, Infants, anc Children (WIC) services. Other services include reports (based on research such as the Youth Risk Behavior Survey,YRBS) that help put the information into context for implementation. In addition, the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory maintains a number of important contracts and sub-grants that fund surveillance activities, food safety services, newborn screening, chemical and biological testing and others. These centers provide important links to the community that provide us with capacity to develop additional service-related collaborations.

b. Emphasis on community and professional service activities in the promotion and tenure process

Faculty of the University of Nevada, Reno are evaluated annually on teaching, research and service activities. The university by-laws state that “an academic faculty member being recommended for appointment with tenure must receive a "satisfactory" rating or better in the area of service, which may include, but not be limited to [italics added to community service elements]:

(A) Membership and participation in professional organizations; (B) Ability to work with faculty and students in the best interests of the academic community and the people it serves, and to the extent that the job performance of the academic faculty member's major unit may not be otherwise adversely affected; (C) Service on university or system committees; (D) Recognition among colleagues for possessing integrity and the capacity for further significant intellectual and professional achievement; and (E) Recognition and respect outside the System community for participation and service in community, state, or nationwide activity.

All SCHS faculty have service obligations that are outlined in annual role statements upon which they are evaluated. The typical service commitment is 20% of each faculty member’s time. Although service activities for SCHS faculty generally include membership and chair positions on SCHS, Division of Health Sciences and university committees, faculty are also expected and encouraged to engage in both scholarly and community service outside the university. The SCHS personnel committee recently revised guidelines that provide more specific language regarding the expectation of external service (including both scholarly and community service) for all tenured professors, tenure-track professors who have completed at least two years toward tenure, and lecturers. These guidelines will be used for the evaluation of faculty for 2016. (In process. E:resource: Faculty evaluation)

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c. Current service activities

Table 3.2.1. Faculty Service from 2013-2014 to 2015-2016

Faculty member

Role Organization Activity or Project Year(s)

Jeffrey Angermann

Councilor Society of Toxicology, Mountain West Chapter

Maintenance of website, coordination of activities at regional at national meetings

2014, 2015

Jeffrey Angermann

Invited Manuscript ReviewerExternal Grant Reviewer

American Heart AssociationAmerican Heart Association Western Region

Circulation Research; Hypertension; Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, Vascular BiologyAHA Peer Review Committee

2013, 2014, 2015

Jeffrey Angermann

External Grant Reviewer

NSF NSF EPSCoR Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP)

2013, 2014, 2015

Kristen Clements-Nolle

Committee Member

Nevada Statewide Epidemiologic Outcomes Workgroup

Participate on Nevada Statewide Epidemiologic Outcomes Workgroup

2013, 2014, 2015

Kristen Clements-Nolle

Committee Member

Statewide HIV Community Planning Committee

Work with representatives from Nevada State Health Division, Washoe County Health District, Clark County Health District, Carson City Health Department, and faculty from UNLV to write statewide HIV Prevention Plan. Provide advise on epidemiology and needs assessment.

2013, 2014, 2015

Nora Constantino

Committee Member

American College of Sports Medicine

Special Interest Group: Minority Health and Research

2013, 2014, 2015

Nora Constantino

Committee Member

Washoe County Chronic Disease Coalition

This coalition is composed of members of the health community interested in slowing the incidence of chronic disease.

2013, 2014, 2015

Nora Constantino

Board of Directors Member

Nevada Diabetes Association for Children and Adults

Nevada Diabetes Association for Children and Adults

2013, 2014

Nora Constantino

Board of Directors Member

NAPHERD NAPHERD 2013

Daniel Cook Student Org Advisor (Non-Professional Org)

Nevada Statewide Coalition of Youth (Tobacco Control)

Advised a youth advocacy summit sponsored by the state and advised in planning additional advocacy events

2014, 2015

Daniel Cook Committee Member

Tobacco Free University Implementation Team

Tobacco Free University Implementation Team 2014, 2015

Daniel Cook Committee Member

Northern Nevada Tobacco Action Committee, Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition

Contribute to strategic planning on tobacco control and contribute to action implementation when appropriate

2013, 2014, 2015

Daniel Cook Officer, President/Elect/Past

Nevada Public Health Association

President Elect 2013President 2014Past President 2015

2013, 2014, 2015

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Paul Devereux Board of Directors Member

Nevada Colon Cancer Partnership

Nevada Colon Cancer Partnership 2013, 2014, 2015

Paul Devereux Conference Reviewer

American Public Health Association

Reviewed abstracts submitted to American Public Health Association meeting

2013

Paul Devereux Ad Hoc Reviewer Nevada Public Health Association

Reviewed abstracts submitted for presentations at the Annual Conference of the Nevada Public Health Association

2014

Amy Fitch Member Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee

The committee provides input to the RTC on policy issues relating to bicycle and pedestrian

2013, 2014, 2015

Amy Fitch Panel Member Regional Transportation Commission

serve on an RTC Review Panel for the Request for Approach submissions for Evans Avenue reconstruction.

2014

Amy Fitch Member UNR Master Plan Transportation Workshop

participate in the Transportation Workshop for the master plan

2014

Amy Fitch Committee Member

Truckee Meadows Bicycle Alliance

assist in planning and implementation of Bike to Work Week event in Reno/Sparks area every May in conjunction with national Bike to Work Month.

2013

Michelle Granner

Committee Member

Nevada Medical Marijuana Dispensary Advertising Panel

2014

Michelle Granner

Associate Editor Health Behavior and Policy Review

Associate Editor 2013

Erin Grinshteyn Conference Reviewer

GSA (Gerontological Society of America)

Abstract Review 2014

Erin Grinshteyn Committee Member

Renown Health Working Group on Behavioral Health and Workplace Violence Prevention

Partnership comprised of Renown Health, St Mary's Regional Medical Center, Northern Nevada Medical Center, REMSA, and West Hills Hospital to address behavioral health needs in the community and workplace violence prevention.

2014, 2015

Erin Grinshteyn faculty organizer Teach In Regarding AB 148

Faculty organizer of an on campus teach in regarding Assembly Bill 148, which proposed allowing concealed carry on campus to all CCW holders. In this role I helped plan the event, obtained speakers for the event, and spoke at the teach in

2015

Trudy Larson Committee Member

Ebola Task Force for Nevada

Provide expertise on Ebola and participate in planning and identifying Nevada's needs for preparation and implementation of emerging infection biological preparedness.

2014

Trudy Larson Board of Directors Member

Nevada Donor Network

Board of governors is the responsible party for the Nevada Donor Network, an organ procurement organization.

2013, 2014, 2015

Trudy Larson Committee Member

Nevada State Medical Association: Public Health committee

Work with committee to identify public health issues and determine need for policy change

2013, 2014, 2015

Trudy Larson Committee Member

Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center Leadership Council

The Leadership Council is charged with providing information and recommendations to the Project Director of the PAETC in all areas.

2013, 2014, 2015

Trudy Larson Liaison to the Dean SOM Organ and Tissue Donor Program

Responsible for overseeing the organ donor program, a statewide program, and coordinating with community advocates

2013, 2014, 2015

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Trudy Larson Medical Consultant Washoe County Health Department

Provide consultation and support for the Immunization program at the Washoe County Health Department.

2013, 2014, 2015

Trudy Larson Committee Member, Officer, President/Elect/Past

Nevada Public Health Foundation

NPHF focuses on the public health needs of Nevada and looks to partner with, write grants for, and implement programs that improve the health of Nevadans.

2013, 2014, 2015

Trudy Larson Committee Member

Medical Advisory Committee to the Nevada State Health Division

Provides medical input to Health Division on decisions regarding HIV treatment/medications for Nevada citizens with HIV/AIDS

2013, 2014, 2015

Trudy Larson Guest Lecturer Multiple Universities in China

Gave 3 guest lectures to different School of Public Health in Nevada. 2 lectures on HIV/AIDS and 1 on innovations in Medical Education.

2014

Melanie Minarik Executive Consultant

Nevada State Health Division

Professional and confidential consultations with 4 different members of the NSHD team regarding internal management issues.

2013, 2014

Minggen Lu External Grant Reviewer

CDC Healthy Brain Initiative Network (HBIN) SIPS 14-001 & 002 Special Emphasis Panel External Grant Reviewer

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Julie Smith Gagen

Associate Editor Medicine, Wolters Kluwer

Associate Editor 2014

Judith Sugar Committee Chair Association for Gerontology in Higher Education

Fellows Committee 2013, 2014

Karla Wagner Working group member

Overdose/Naloxone Legislation Working Group

Research (analyzing statewide data on overdose deaths, hospital admissions, and other indicators) and service (providing expertise on national best practices, assisting with education and outreach efforts).

2014, 2015

Karla Wagner Guest Lecturer Drexel University Gave the inaugural lecture for the Community Health Forum series at the Drexel University School of Public Health, Department of Community Health and Prevention.

2014

Karla Wagner Ad Hoc Reviewer National Institutes of Health

Special Review Group - ZDA1 NXR-B (June 10, 2014)

2014

James Wilson Guest Speaker NV State Ebola Task Force

Provided a review of current medical intelligence regarding the West Africa Ebola response effort.

2014, 2015

Wei Yang Committee Member

Nevada Statewide Youth Bisk Behavior Study Steering Committee

Steering Committee 2014, 2015

Wei Yang Committee Member

American Public Health Association

Committee of Statistican Involvement in Evidence-Based Public Health Practice

2013, 2014, 2015

Wei Yang Committee Member

Nevada Substance Abuse Prevention & Treatment Agency

Epi Committee 2013, 2014, 2015

Wei Yang Editorial Board Member

Journal of Nevada Public Health Association

Editorial Board Member 2013,2014

Wei Yang External Grant Review Panel Member

NIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Research Linking Environmental Exposure to Neurodegenerative Disease (R01 R21)

Invited by NIH for R01/R21 Review Panel. As the core reviewer reviewed 6 applications and as the panel member reviewed total over 70 applications.

2014

See E-resource section: Faculty Service for additional service activities.

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d. Evaluating success of service effortsGoal 1. Objective 3: Graduation/Post-Graduation Target 2012-

20132013-2014

2014-2015

3e. 10% of MPH graduates will have local, regional or national leadership positions in public health.

10% 23% 20% Not yet

available

Goal 3: “To be recognized for leadership in public health.”

Objective:

1. 25% of faculty will hold positions on review panels, study sections, editor positions, and other influential bodies.

25% 46% 46% 40%

2. 30% of faculty will share health-related information with community or media.

By 201530%

By 201840%

33% 41% 53%

Goal 4: “To engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service.”Objectives:

1. 40% of faculty will co-author reports and publications with colleagues at other units on campus.

40% 50% 53% 44%

2. 30% of faculty will co-author reports, publications, and presentations with community members.

30% 38% 40% 50%

3. 15% of faculty will provide workshops, trainings and continuing education opportunities to public health professionals.

15% 33% 41% 47%

4. 15% of faculty will provide technical assistance to the community, including but not limited to, program evaluations, consulting, data analysis, grant partnerships.

15% 56% 47% 58%

5. 50% of UNR faculty are members of community boards or committees.

50% 56% 59% 63%

7. 40% of faculty will serve as reviewers of journal articles and grant applications.

40% 73% 86% 93%

e. Student involvement in service

The students in the SCHS have a number of opportunities for service. Through the under graduate and graduate public health clubs and through classroom opportunities students can participate in vaccination clinics, facilitate conferences, work with agencies on projects or any number of other community and campus events. The undergraduate club participated in Relay for Life, World AIDS Day celebrations, National Public Health Week and set up tables representing public health at special events on and off campus. The SCHS gives an annual award to graduating seniors recognizing excellence in service. These awards have gone to Corey Stone 2015 for volunteer projects abroad, Cory Guidi 2015 for fund raising for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, to Bonnie Elliott 2014 and Dana Pardee 2013 as very active Public Health Coalition presidents.

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Although many students entering the MPH program already have a strong history of service, the MPH curriculum, the Public Health Club, internships and research all encourage and support student service. Including service as a component of the MPH curriculum provides students with exposure to the variety of opportunities available to them. However, it is also critical that students pursue such service on their own, recognizing the value that service brings to the community and themselves. SCHS MPH students have demonstrated their independent commitment to service through numerous community activities. During the 2013-14 school year, the GSPH organized a hygiene kit drive and a warm winter wear drive. The GSPH contacted businesses in the Reno-Sparks area for donations of hygiene products like soap, deodorant, hand sanitizer, and oral hygiene products or monetary donations to buy these types of products and over 100 hygiene kits were made. For the warm winter wear drive, the GSPH collected 50 coats/jacket, beanies, socks and gloves. The GSPH worked with community partners to distribute the hygiene kits and the warm winter wear. In addition to community outreach, the GSPH also participated in health promotion activities on campus including leading a session on health disparities during the Cultural Competencies of Healthcare conference and showing a screening of a PBS documentary on Childhood Trauma and PTSD. In 2014-15, the GSPH volunteered with the Northern Nevada Outreach Team (Health department based sexual health education and screening team) during their prescription drug roundup and collected prescription drugs at community drop off centers. In addition, GSPH co-sponsored the screening of the documentary, Deep South and held a World AIDS Day event. Prior to this event, GSPH members made red ribbons that people could buy for $1 to show their support for World AIDS Day and donated the $75 raised to the Northern Nevada Outreach Team. In the spring, GSPH participated in the Division of Health Sciences Cultural Considerations in Healthcare conference by presenting on health literacy. Lastly, GSPH co-sponsored the screening of Feeding Frenzy with the Washoe County Health District during public health week.

The Making Heath Happen (MH2) events have inspired students to join or start their own activities. ( E-resource; Workforce development: MH2 events). Students are informed of community events and opportunities for service through a bulletin board and a WebCampus webpage that allows for mass email distribution.

Goal 1. Objective 2: Education/Training Target 2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

2e.By 2015, 75% of MPH students will be involved in leadership roles and/or providing service to the community or university.By 2018, 60% of MPH students will be involved in providing service to the community or university, in addition to coursework, the internship or paid work.

By 201575%

By 201860%

68% 64% 45%

f. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans This criteria is met.Strengths:

Faculty are engaged in both unfunded and funded service. They serve national, regional, state and local agencies and programs.

Students are excited to participate in service events and find inspiration for their future plans. There are many opportunities both in class and outside of class

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Weaknesses and Plans: Faculty are sometimes too involved and excited about their service. The new evaluation

guidelines will help faculty focus on service at higher levels.3.3 Workforce Development.

a. Community needs assessment The SCHS feels it is important to periodically identify work force priorities for continuing education and technical assistance. Many anecdotal opinions are gathered during continuing education and training assessments but an organized approach is important in defining the content and delivery method that can be most useful to the public health workforce. The school has conducted two surveys of the public health workforce over the last 3 years. Both of these efforts involved primary data collection and offered either online, paper, or phone access.

Dr. Elizabeth Christiansen and MPH student, Yasmine Mohamednur, conducted the first survey in 2013. Key findings from that survey (N=194) indicate that there is a high level of interest among Nevada’s public health workforce to advance professionally and there is wide diversity of public health interests. To guide the development of professional development programs or continuing education curriculums topics such as community outreach and engagement, mental health, and program evaluation had the highest level of interest among survey respondents. The most popular methods of delivery as indicated by the survey respondents included: conference with breakout sessions, hands-on workshop, and lecture. Most participants indicated that an online or webinar option would be the most convenient way to participate in a professional development or continuing education program. The majority of respondents believed that participating in one to three continuing education events per year would be feasible.

The second survey was conducted through participation in the Western Region Public Health Training Center’s need assessment process. Gerold Dermid, project coordinator, and Quinn Cartright, MPH student, conducted this survey from November 2014-April 2015. Many public health workforce competencies were assessed to identify key areas of need particularly as it relates to public health department accreditation. Key findings from this survey (N=837) indicate that public health professionals have different needs depending on their duties. Public health professionals represented half of participants (53.8%), while directors and senior leaders represented the least (5%). Approximately 49% of support staff felt trainings on prioritization and time management would enhance professional growth; 54.8% of public health professionals favored trainings on evidence based programs, policies, and practices; 67.2% of managers and leaders supported leadership skill trainings; close to 70% of directors and senior leaders favored trainings focusing on improving program outcomes and measures. The two most popular training characteristics for all job descriptions were on-site trainings at workplace (60+%) and independent study computed-based training (54+%). This information will help inform ongoing continuing education programs.

b. Continuing education programs

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List of Continuing Education Offerings of the School for the Last Three Years

Faculty Organization # of Participants

Professional or Academic

Description Year

Melanie Minarik Nevada State Health Division

200 Professional Executive Development for the NSDH Leadership Team - Strategic Planning, Communication, Teambuilding, Change Management, Organizational Structure Facilitation. 4 separate sessions. 12 hours.

2013

Kristen Clements-Nolle SAMHSA 22 Professional (Webinar) Data Utilization: Getting Down to the Basics

2013

Kristen Clements-Nolle SAMHSA 25 Professional (Webinar) Data Collection: Sources and Methods

2013

Kristen Clements-Nolle SAMHSA 20 Professional (Webinar)Data Reporting: Mobilization and Sustainability

2013

Kristen Clements-Nolle SAMHSA 28 Professional Adverse Childhood Experiences: Implications for Substance Abuse Prevention and Mental Health Promotion (Montana)

2013

Kristen Clements-Nolle SAMHSA 34 Professional Epidemiologic Principals (Samoa) 2013

Kristen Clements-Nolle SAMHSA 33 Professional The Intersection of HIV and Substance Abuse Epidemics: Implications for Prevention (Samoa)

2013

Kristen Clements-Nolle SAMHSA 23 Professional Adverse Childhood Experiences: Implications for Substance Abuse Prevention and Mental Health Promotion

2013

Kristen Clements-Nolle SAMHSA 9 Professional Webinar: Collecting Data with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Communities

2014

Trudy Larson REMSA 11,5 Professional Provided 2 90 minute lectures for REMSA community health paramedics on the Social

2014, 2015

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Determinants of Health and finding Health Care in Washoe county

Trudy Larson NN HOPESSouthern Nevada Gathering

1545

Professional Two workshops on the ACA and Ryan White for HIV providers.

2013

Trudy Larson NV AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC)

25 Professional Presented an Update on HIV/AIDS for medical professional group

2013

Trudy Larson NV AETC 568592

Professional Planned and presented at the Annual Autumn Update for HIV at Lake Tahoe.

201320142015

Trudy Larson Immunize Nevada

25 Professional (Webinar) Influenza in Vulnerable Populations: Children, Chronic Disease and the Elderly"

2015

Kristen Clements-Nolle, Roman Pabayo

Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (NDPBH)

20 Professional Epidemiology for Public Health Professionals module

2014

Paul Devereux, Michelle Granner, Dan Cook, Roman Pabayo, Gerold Dermid Gray

NDPBH 20 Professional Program Planning for Public Health Professionals module

2014

Paul Devereux, Michelle Granner, Dan Cook, Roman Pabayo, Gerold Dermid Gray

NDPBH 20 Professional Program Evaluation for Public Health Professionals module

2014

Paul Devereux, Michelle Granner, Dan Cook, Roman Pabayo, Gerold Dermid

NDPBH 20 Professional Research Tools for Public Health Professionals module

2014

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GrayPaul Devereux, Michelle Granner, Dan Cook, Roman Pabayo, Gerold Dermid Gray

NDPBH, WCHD 30 Professional Introduction to Public Health Policy: Understanding Data and Best Practices Training

2015

Michelle Granner, Dan Cook, Roman Pabayo, Gerold Dermid Gray

NDPBH, WCHD 30 Professional Policy Development Training 2015

Michelle Granner, Dan Cook, Roman Pabayo, Gerold Dermid Gray

NDPBH, WCHD 30 Professional Community and External Partner Engagement Training

2015

Michelle Granner, Dan Cook, Roman Pabayo, Gerold Dermid Gray

NDPBH, WCHD 30 Professional Policy Implementation and Evaluation Training 2015

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c. Certificate programs and non-degree offerings At the master’s level, faculty participate in the Social Justice, Gerontology, and the Gender, Race, and Identify (GRI) certificates. One MPH student is currently enrolled in the Social Justice Certificate for which CHS 701 counts as an elective. One MPH student is enrolled in the GRI certificate. At the undergraduate level, CHS students have completed certificates in gerontology and addiction treatment and prevention services and certain CHS courses can be used for electives.

d. Support for continuing education and workforce developmentWorkforce development for the State of Nevada is a core mission of this university. UNR offers a vigorous extended studies program and the strategic plan explicitly links university expertise to economic development for the state (E-resource: Strategic Plan UNR). Faculty from SCHS participate in the Extended Studies program to provide content expertise for working professionals during courses but do not offer programs at this time. .http://www.extendedstudies.unr.edu/index.htm

The SCHS vision and mission statement supports active engagement and collaboration with community partners to improve the health of Nevadans. The school’s mission statement includes five goals, with the fourth goal being “to engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service.” This goal includes engaging the public health workforce in training and development activities. The Community Advisory Board provides an important feedback loop for our educational services and helps identify areas of educational need. The SCHS established a training goal in Objective 3.3 to provide a measurable outcome of workshops, training, and continuing education activities. To support this engagement, a full-time coordinator for field studies and community engagement was hired in 2013. It is beneficial to have a coordinator who engages the community for educational purposes also identify engagement opportunities for research, service and education. Continuing education activities can be seen in Table 3.3 b and funded continuing education activities can be found in Template 3.3.1 (E resource: Templates)

Examples of important SCHS engagement include training efforts conducted at the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health over the last three years. Topics included leadership and strategic planning to begin the process of accreditation for the state. More recently, in 2014, sessions on Epidemiology, Program Planning and Program Evaluation and Research Tools in Public Health assisted new and continuing staff to refine basic skills. In 2015, modules on Public Policy and community engagement were delivered on site at the NDPBH and at the Washoe County Health Department as part of their accreditation preparation and in response to the needs assessment.

The SCHS was awarded the subcontract for Nevada with the Western Regional Public Health Training Center (based in University of Arizona) to more formally identify training needs and expand training efforts. The needs assessment information presented in 3.3a, will help define future topics but accomplishments this year include the creation of a Project ECHO based Public Health Grand rounds that covers cutting edge topics. Participation is web-based and includes case presentations and questions.

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One major issue identified during the 2013 needs assessment was the difficulty for part-time public health professionals from rural and frontier Nevada to attend public health conferences. Part of the training center award provides stipends to practitioners to attend meetings. The award also supports travel to rural Nevada for faculty to present topics on-site. The goal is to provide a network of support to develop public health expertise in rural Nevada.

e. Collaboration in continuing educationUniversity of Nevada School of Medicine Project ECHO to present Public Health Grand RoundsNevada Public Health Foundation for conferencesNevada Public Health Institute in collaboration to present the County Health RankingsWestern Region Public Health Training Center (U of AZ, U of HI, UCSF)Nevada AIDS Education and Training CenterNevada Geriatric Education Center/Consortium*Immunize Nevada *Nevada Cancer Coalition*Nevada Public Health Association

* The last three are through professional development conferences/trainings.

f. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans

This criteria is met.

Strengths: The school has a well-developed community outreach program that results in relevant

continuing education activities. Receiving the award for the subcontract for the Western Region Public Health Training Center

brought important resources to expand the number and type of continuing education offerings in the state.

Weaknesses and Plans: The latest needs assessment has not been sufficiently reviewed to be able to target new

educational opportunities and topics. We anticipate using the assessment to provide continuing education throughout the state.

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4.0 Faculty, Staff and Students

4.1 Faculty Qualifications

a.Primary faculty

Table 4.1.1. Current Primary Faculty Supporting Degree Offerings of School or Program by Department/Specialty Area

Department (schools)/Specialty Area (programs)

Name Title/Academic Rank

Tenure Status or Classification *

FTEMPH

FTE BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Institution where degrees were earned

Discipline in which degrees were earned

Teaching Area Research Interest

Epidemiology Kristen Clements-Nolle

Associate Professor

Tenured 1.0 FTE

MPH, PhD

University of California, Berkeley

Epidemiology Epidemiology, HIV/AIDS,

Vulnerable youth interventions, YRBS

Roman Pabayo

Assistant Professor

Tenure-track

.7 .3 MS

PhD

McGill University, Universite de Montreal

Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Nutritional Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology

Epidemiology Identifying social and physical determinants of health in many populations.

Julie Smith-Gagen

Assistant professor,

Tenure track

.7 .3 MPH, PhD

University of California, Davis, California

Epidemiology Public Health biology, Epidemiology

Health outcomes, health disparities

Social Behavioral Health

Paul Devereux

Associate professor

Tenured .6 .4 MPH,

PhD

San Jose State University

General Introduction to Public Health, Social Psychology in Public Health

Health disparities in cancer screening

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Department (schools)/Specialty Area (programs)

Name Title/Academic Rank

Tenure Status or Classification *

FTEMPH

FTE BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Institution where degrees were earned

Discipline in which degrees were earned

Teaching Area Research Interest

University of Nevada

Social Psychology

Amy Fitch

Lecturer 1 Non-tenure track

.3 .7 MPH University of California, Berkeley

Social Behavioral Health

Health Communication, Introduction to Public Health, Lifespan Issues in Public Health, Built Environment

Built environment and bicycle friendly cities

Michelle Granner

Associate professor

Tenured .6 .4 PhD University of South Carolina

Individual, Social, and Environmental Factors in Health

Health Communication

Obesity, Stress management

Julie Lucero

Assistant professor

Tenure track

.7 .3 MPH

PhD

University of New Mexico

EpidemiologyHealth Communication

Social Behavioral Health; Health Disparities

Community Participatory Research; American Indian health issues

Judith Sugar

Associate professor

Tenured .5 .5 PhD York University, Toronto,

Psychology Public Health professionalism, Public

Aging and retirement

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Department (schools)/Specialty Area (programs)

Name Title/Academic Rank

Tenure Status or Classification *

FTEMPH

FTE BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Institution where degrees were earned

Discipline in which degrees were earned

Teaching Area Research Interest

Canada Health and Aging

choices

Karla Wagner

Assistant professor

Tenure track

.7 .3 PhD University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Health Behavior Research

Public Health Ethics

Injection drug use, HIV/AIDS and networks

Health Admin and Policy

Dan Cook

Associate professor

Tenured .5 .5 PhD City University of New York. Graduate Center

Political Science

Health Policy, Scientific writing

Health and safety regulation and policy

Gerold Dermid-Gray

Administrative faculty

Non-tenure track

.6 .4 MBA UNR Business Administration, Health Management/Marketing

Internship Coordinator; Professionalism; Health Disparities;

Social Networks

Health Disparities; Health Communications; Social Networks; HIV

Erin Grinshteyn

Assistant professor

Tenure track

.6 .4 PhD UCLA Health Services, Health Policy and Management

Health Policy Injury/Violence Prevention, Mental Health, Disparities,

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Department (schools)/Specialty Area (programs)

Name Title/Academic Rank

Tenure Status or Classification *

FTEMPH

FTE BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Institution where degrees were earned

Discipline in which degrees were earned

Teaching Area Research Interest

HIV, Gero

Trudy Larson

Professor Tenured .7 .3 MD University of California Irvine

Medicine Vaccine policy and regulation; HIV/AIDS policy

Outcomes research and quality improvement

Mel Minarik

Lecturer 3 Non-tenure track

.4 .6 MPH

PhD

UCLA

UNR

Health Service Management,

Educational Leadership

Health Administration, Health Policy, Organizational Behavior, Leadership

Quality Management, Health Policy, Organizational Behavior. Personal leadership

Biostatistics Minggen Lu

Associate professor

Tenured .9 .1 PhD Northern University, Boston, MA University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Mathematics, Biostatistics

Biostatistics, Advanced Analytic methods

Statistical analysis (collaborative), Biostatistical methods

Soyoung Ryu

Assistant professor

Tenure track

1.0 MS

MSPhD

Florida State UniversityUniversity of Washington

Applied Math and Statistics;StatisticsStatistics

Biostatistics; Bioinformatics

Proteomic analysis modeling

Wei Professor Tenured .9 .1 PhD University Environmental Informatics, Outcomes

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Department (schools)/Specialty Area (programs)

Name Title/Academic Rank

Tenure Status or Classification *

FTEMPH

FTE BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Institution where degrees were earned

Discipline in which degrees were earned

Teaching Area Research Interest

Yang of Nevada, Reno

Health and Epidemiology

Environmental health, Biostatistics

evaluation, health statistics and mapping, BRFSS, YRBS

Environmental Health

Jeff Angermann

Assistant professor

Tenure track

.6 .4 PhD University of Nevada Reno

Environmental Science

Environmental Health, Public Health biology, Toxic communities, Scientific writing

Health impacts of arsenic exposure

Kinesiology Nora Constantino

Assoc professor

Tenured .2 FTE

.8 FTE

PhD University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Exercise physiology

Personal Health and Wellness

Fitness in children

* Classification of faculty may differ by institution, but may refer to teaching, research, service faculty or tenured, tenure-track, non-tenure-track faculty or alternative appointment categories used by the school or program.

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c. Qualifications of other program faculty

Template 4.1.2. Other Faculty Used to Support Teaching Programs (adjunct, part-time, secondary appointments, etc.)

Department (school)/ Specialty Area (program)

Name Title/ Academic Rank

Title & Current Employer

FTE or % TimeMPH

FTE or % BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Discipline for earned graduate degrees

Teaching Areas

Epidemiology2014-15 James

WilsonAssoc Research Professor

School of Community Health Sciences

.1 .3 MD Pediatrics Infectious disease forecasting

2013-2014 Kimothy Smith

Administrative faculty

Director, AIC, Desert Research Institute

.1 .1 DVM, PhD

Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases

Epidemiology, Biopreparedness and Biosurveillance

2013-2014 Randy Todd Adjunct Faculty

Director, Preparedness and Communicable Disease: Washoe County Health Department

.1 .1 DrPH Epidemiology Disease Investigation

2013-2014 Ishan Azzam

Affiliate faculty Statewide Cancer Epidemiologist: Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health

.2 MPH, PhD

Epidemiology Epidemiology

2013-2014 Lei Chen Adjunct faculty Epidemiologist, Washoe county Health Department

.1 PhD Epidemiology Outbreak Control

2014-2015 Peter Dieringer

Affiliate Faculty

Analyst, Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health

.2 MPH Epidemiology Epidemiology; Biostatistics

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Department (school)/ Specialty Area (program)

Name Title/ Academic Rank

Title & Current Employer

FTE or % TimeMPH

FTE or % BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Discipline for earned graduate degrees

Teaching Areas

2013 Paula Valencia-Castro

Affiliate faculty Graduate student .1 PhD Environmental Health

Epidemiology

2015 Maximillian Wegener

Affiliate faculty Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health: Analyst

.1 MPH Epidemiology Epidemiology

Social Behavioral Health2013-2015 Elizabeth

ChristiansenAdministrative Faculty

SCHS, Director, Center for Program Evaluation

.2 MA

PhD

Social Psychology

Social Psychology

Program Evaluation

2013-15 Gerold Dermid

Administrative faculty

SCHS, Coordinator, Field Studies and Community Engagement

.3 MBA International Health Communications and International Strategy

Global Health; HIV/AIDS

2013 Enid Jennings

Administrative faculty

UNR student health .1 MPH Social Behavioral Health

Introduction to public health

2013 Tory Clark Affiliate faculty Counseling practice .1 MPH, PhD

Social Behavioral Health

Health and Wellness

2013-2015 Andrea Esp Affiliate faculty Nevada State Public and Behavioral Health

.2 MPH Social Behavioral Health

Introduction to public health; Health and Wellness

2013-2015 Amy Arias Affiliate faculty Faculty for TMCC, UNR

.3 MA Communication Health Communication

2013-2015 Manal Toppozada

Affiliate faculty Director and founder: The Notables

.2 MA Music Therapies Disabilities

2013-2014 George McKinley

Affiliate faculty Graduate Student UNR

.1 PhD Education Disabilities

2013-2015 Steve Kutz Affiliate faculty Washoe County Health Department

.2 MPH Social Behavioral Health

Introduction to public health

2013 Heidi Parker Affiliate faculty Executive Director .1 MA Communications and Marketing

Health Communication

2014-15 Lisa Lotts Affiliate faculty Graduate student VA .1 PhD Anthropology Medical Anthropology

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Department (school)/ Specialty Area (program)

Name Title/ Academic Rank

Title & Current Employer

FTE or % TimeMPH

FTE or % BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Discipline for earned graduate degrees

Teaching Areas

in public health2014-15 Heather

KerwinAffiliate faculty Consultant: Program

evaluation.2 MPH Social Behavioral

HealthIntroduction to public health

2014-2015 Melanie Flores

Affiliate faculty Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health

.2 MSW Community Outreach

Personal Health and Wellness HIV/AIDS

2014-2015 Kelli Goatley-Seals

Affiliate faculty Washoe County Health Department; Chronic Disease coordinator

.2 MPH International Health/ Epidemiology

Introduction to public health;

2014-2015 Yasmine Mohamednur

Affiliate faculty Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health

.2 MPH,RN Social Behavioral Health

Technical writing for the health sciences

2014-2015` Robbin Vasques

Affiliate faculty Washoe County School District; Special Education consultant

.2 MA Education; Special Education

Disparities

2015 Erin Dixon Affiliate faculty Washoe County Health Department

.1 MA Health Communication

Introduction to Public Health

2015 Karli Epstein Affiliate faculty American Red Cross .2 MA International Development and Complex Emergencies

Global Health

2015 B. Denise Stokich

Affiliate faculty Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health

.1 MPH Public Health Leadership

Personal Health and Wellness: Epidemiology

2015 Kelly Morning

Affliliate faculty

Think Kindness .1 MPH Social Behavioral Health

Field Students in Public Health; Introduction to Public Health

2015 Natalie Powell

Affiliate faculty Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health

.1 MPH Social Behavioral Health

Technical Writing in Health

2015 Lindsay Dermid-Gray

Affiliate faculty Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health

.1 MPH Social Behavioral Health

Health through the Lifespan

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Department (school)/ Specialty Area (program)

Name Title/ Academic Rank

Title & Current Employer

FTE or % TimeMPH

FTE or % BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Discipline for earned graduate degrees

Teaching Areas

2015 Cicely Valenti-Smith

Affiliate faculty Self-employed .1 MS Recreation and Health

Health through the Life Span

2015 James Seaboldt

Affiliate faculty Glaxo Smith Kline .1 Pharm D, MS

Pharmacy; Microbiology

History, Science and Politics of vaccines

2015 Peter Reed Administrative Faculty

Sanford Center for Aging UNR

.1 MPH, PhD

Aging Aging

Health Administration and Policy2013-2015 John

PackhamAssociate Professor, SOM

Director, Center for Rural Health, School of Medicine

.1 PhD Health Policy Health policy

2014-2015 Curtis Splan Affiliate faculty Kaiser Foundation Oregon

.1 MS Management of Information Science

Health Information Systems

2015 Leonard Hamer

Affiliate faculty Physician Select Management

.1 MBA International Business

Health Finances

2015 Donna Knapp

Affiliate faculty Consultant, MGMA .1 MA Health Finances

2015 Sheila Leslie

Affiliate faculty Washoe county Social Services

.1 MA Spanish Language and Literature

Public Health Policy

Biostatistics2014-2015 Jay Kvam Affiliate

FacultyState Biostatistician: Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health

.2 Biostatistics Biostatistics

2015 Michael Doane

Affiliate faculty UNR; Graduate student

.1 PhD, MA Social Psychology Biostatistics

2015 James Kuhzippala

Affiliate faculty Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health

.1 MPH Epidemiology Biostatistics

2015 Marisa Crowder

Affiliate faculty Instructor .1 PhD, MA Social Psychology Biostatistics

Environment

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Department (school)/ Specialty Area (program)

Name Title/ Academic Rank

Title & Current Employer

FTE or % TimeMPH

FTE or % BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Discipline for earned graduate degrees

Teaching Areas

al Health2013-14 Noel

BondersonAffiliate faculty Retired: Washoe

county environmentalist

.2 MS Environmental Health

Environmental Health

2015 Tania Das Banerjee

Affiliate faculty Graduate Student .1 PhD, MPH

Neuroscience,Environmental and Molecular Toxicology

Environmental Health

Kinesiology2013-2015 Michael

SpevakAffiliate Faculty

Partner: Active Physical Therapy

.3 DPT Physical Therapy Kinesiology

2013-2015 Parley Anderson

Affiliate Faculty

Partner: Active Physical Therapy

.3 DPT Physical Therapy Kinesiology

2013-2015 Phil Pavillionis

Affiliate faculty PE teacher and coach: Washoe County School District

.3 MS Exercise Science Athletic Injuries;

2013-2015 Yani Dickens

Administrative faculty

UNR .1 PhD Sports Psychology Psychology of Extreme Athletes

2014-2015 James Fitzsimmons

Administrative Faculty

UNR; Director Center for Recreation and Wellness

.2 PhD Educational Leadership

Fitness training;

2015 Dean Hinitz Affiliate faculty Private practice: Psychology

.2 PhD Sports Psychology Sports Psychology

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Department (school)/ Specialty Area (program)

Name Title/ Academic Rank

Title & Current Employer

FTE or % TimeMPH

FTE or % BS

Graduate Degrees Earned

Discipline for earned graduate degrees

Teaching Areas

2015 Rhonda Serr

Affiliate faculty .1 MA

2015 Amanda LaTorre

Affiliate faculty Sports Trainer .1 MPH Social Behavioral Health

Exercise Science

2015 Sheena Harvey

Administrative faculty

Center for Recreation and Wellness, UNR

.1 MS Equity and Diversity in Educational Settings

Team and individual Sports

2015 Jeffrey Assiff

Affiliate faculty Washoe County School District

.1 M. Ed Educational Leadership

Adaptive PE

Public Health Biology2013-2015 Logan

HamillAdjunct Faculty

Retired .4 MPH Glutamine oral supplementation on cancer subjects.

Public Health Biology

2014-2015 Christy Works

Affiliate faculty Graduate student .2 MPH Epidemiology Public health biology

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d. Faculty in practice

Many of the CHS courses include guest speakers from public health practice to ensure that the practical aspects, the application of theories, are highlighted. Examples of this are seen throughout the curriculum (see syllabi). Six full time faculty have MPH degrees a, two more have MS degrees in public health and many have had practical experience in public health work. Dr. Clements-Nolle worked with the epidemiology department in San Francisco, Amy Fitch worked as an Education & Training Coordinator for the Communicable Disease Program & Public Health Preparedness Program at the Washoe County Health District and Dr. Mel Minarik was a health administrator. Dr. Julie Smith-Gagen worked as an MPH in the Florida Department of Health and the California Cancer Registry. Before joining UNR, Dr. Yang worked for seven years as a Physician and Clinical Epidemiologist in Occupational Medicine, and served ten years as the Nevada State Chief Biostatistician and Director of the State Center for Health Data and Research at Nevada State Department of Health and Human Services. Gerold Dermid-Gray has over 10 years of experience in public health practice as a health educator, health communications specialist, administrator, and consultant for Washoe County Health District and Dr Pabayo has worked with three local health departments. They are strong advocates for the inclusion of practice with theory.

Faculty also have expertise in medicine, public policy, social work, aging, psychology, and education. All of these perspectives provide a rich foundation for programs in public health.

Our affiliate and adjunct faculty who teach bring their perspectives to the classes they teach. They routinely work in local and state health departments, run their own consulting firms, work in their related health fields, or are retired from careers in public health. This real world knowledge brings a strong degree of relevance to the courses and inspires students to consider public health. In addition, they often provide a connection to their agencies that assists in the placement of interns.

e. Assessing faculty qualifications Goal 3: “To be recognized for leadership in public health.”Objective:1. 25% of faculty will hold positions on review panels, study sections, editor positions, and other influential bodies.

25% 46% 46% 40%

Goal 4: “To engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service.”Objectives:3. 15% of faculty will provide workshops, trainings and continuing education opportunities to public health professionals.

15% 33% 41% 47%

4. 15% of faculty will provide technical assistance to the community, including but not limited to, program evaluations, consulting, data analysis, grant partnerships.

15% 56% 47% 58%

5. 50% of UNR faculty are members of community boards or committees.

50% 56% 59% 63%

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f. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans This criteria is met.

Strengths: The SCHS faculty are from a diversity of backgrounds and are dedicated to public health

education, research and service. They are well qualified. The adjunct, affiliate and part time faculty are all qualified in their field and are dedicated to

teaching students in the SCHS. Many of them repeat every semester because they feel enriched by the experience. They bring exceptional professional backgrounds to their work.

Weaknesses and Plans: With the number of students in the SCHS, it will be important to continue to expand the number

of faculty. The university has committed to positions and this is essential to strike the right balance between teaching and research. With the planning of the PhD progressing, the use of

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4.2 Faculty governance documentsThe most current UNR faculty governing documents are available from the faculty senate at http://www.unr.edu/facultysenate/bylaws/UNR%20Bylaws/unr-bylaws-8-10-2015.pdfA handbook for part-time faculty is also available at http://www.unr.edu/provost/faculty-and-part-time-instructor-resources

a. Faculty development opportunities

UNR offers a number of faculty development opportunities. Through the Vice President for Research and Innovation there are internal awards and services that are available for faculty to increase their research efforts. These include MICRO grants, equipment grants, travel grants, and pre-proposal reviews through the limited submission program. There are also several awards including the Regents Awards for Research, Outstanding Researcher and Foundation Innovation Awards designed to provide stipends for researchers across the campus. These are competitive awards but assist faculty to continue their productivity or explore new avenues. http://www.unr.edu/research-and-innovation/researcher-resources/awards-funding. For the SCHS faculty in particular, CTR-IN (Clinical Translational Research Infrastructure Network http://ctrin.unlv.edu/ ) and INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence http://www.unr.edu/inbre/programs-and-projects/research-projects) grants provide mentored research opportunities for health related research and can be awarded as pilot grants , sabbatical support, mini consultations, or as development research proposals funding up to $75,000 for two years. These grants require that faculty devote a substantial portion of their time to work on projects by allowing for salary support and course buyout. This research support is only for full time faculty.

At the Graduate School, there are resources for new and returning graduate directors and graduate faculty to assist them to be effective in their roles. More information is available at http://www.unr.edu/grad/faculty-resources. These resources are particularly valuable for new faculty as they assume advisor tasks.

Educational resources are available and include campus-wide assistance from Web Campus Learn and Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) (https://teaching.unr.edu/index.html ). WebCampus is the system used on campus for all instruction and there are numerous tutorials and sessions available for both full time and adjunct and affiliate faculty who teach. The educational sessions are particularly helpful as they are highly interactive and address individual faculty needs. The TLT services include many innovative techniques that faculty can use to improve their teaching effectiveness. There are additional campus awards that recognize and reward excellence in teaching and advising for full time faculty and staff. The F. Donald Tibbits Award ($10,000) is awarded annually for excellence in teaching at the University. Dr. Kristen Clements-Nolle from SCHS was awarded this honor in 2014.

The University also provides staff and faculty access to reduced-rate educational opportunities. The purpose of educational benefits is to encourage staff to pursue continued professional growth and new or renewed intellectual achievement. This may be accomplished through study leading to completion of

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a degree, whether associate, undergraduate, graduate or Ph.D., so that career effectiveness may be enhanced, occupational usefulness increased and the University’s personnel skills strengthened.

Sabbatical and development leaves are available to academic and administrative faculty after 6 years of service and every 10 years thereafter. This program enables faculty to be reassigned to projects that lead to professional advancement in instructional, service, or research areas. The program permits reassignments that may be for one-half year or less at full base salary, or more than one-half year up to one full year at two-thirds base salary. During the recession fewer awards were available but one faculty member, Dr. Judith Sugar, was granted a year’s sabbatical to write a book on Aging Education (2013).

The Division of Health Sciences (DHS) has a teaching award and faculty in the school have been nominated multiple times and Dr. Clements-Nolle and Dr. Mel Minarik won in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Travel funds are available for faculty development through the DHS and many faculty members were awarded funds to present their research. These applications are accepted twice a year. http://medicine.nevada.edu/ofd/dhs-unsom-funding-awards. The SCHS provides matching funds to support these faculty development opportunities.

At the SCHS, brown bag sessions have been conducted for faculty (full time and adjunct and affiliate) to share effective techniques for teaching. These have included discussions of classroom management and how to write student learning objectives. In addition, faculty share syllabi and best practices informally and in one-on-one meetings. Once a year the part time and adjunct faculty are invited to meet with full time faculty at a breakfast meeting. The agenda always includes updates, discussion of new educational policies, and review of university and SCHS initiatives. Research brown bag sessions are also conducted to share research ideas, practice presentations, or discuss research related policies. Students are invited to these sessions and some take advantage of the opportunity to present their poster or oral presentations for faculty input.

Additional resources for faculty development that are individually controlled include indirect cost recovery funds (7.75% of grant revenues go to the Principal investigator) and start-up funds. New faculty positions have start-up funds allocated (from the university, DHS and SCHS) that can be used over a three year period for variety of things including conference attendance, graduate research assistants, equipment, and training opportunities.

b. Evaluating faculty competence and performance.

Each January, faculty members electronically submit annual review documents (through Digital measures) summarizing their accomplishments in teaching, research, and service for the previous calendar year to the school’s personnel (P&T)committee. The committee reviews the document, assesses strengths and weaknesses, and recommends a ranking of excellent, commendable, satisfactory or unsatisfactory to the school director. The personnel committee uses faculty approved measures in these reviews (see E-resource).These evaluations are used by the school and university administration for retention, tenure and merit raise decisions. http://www.unr.edu/provost/forms-and-policies

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The school’s policies and procedures for evaluating faculty for tenure and promotion are included in our bylaws (E-resource). According to university policy, tenure track faculty must be tenured by the end of their sixth year as an untenured assistant professor. An applicant for tenure, promotion, or both must submit a file containing required evidence of performance in teaching, research, and service, plus supporting materials. Materials related to teaching performance include student and peer teaching evaluations, and summaries of courses taught and students advised. Evidence of research and scholarship include a compilation of peer-reviewed papers, other publications, research grant production, and presentations at scientific meetings. The file must contain evidence of service to the school, the university, the community, and the candidate’s profession. At least five external reviews of the candidate’s research are obtained from well-known scholars in the candidate’s field. This all follows the procedure developed by the university’s Provosts office. For non-tenure track faculty, lecturers for example, there is a similar process. An application from the candidate for promotion is compiled that includes information on teaching and service (research is not a requirement for promotion in the lecturer category). External review letters are not needed.

At the SCHS, the file is initially reviewed by the school’s Personnel/Promotion and Tenure Committee, which consists of faculty members in the school. Applications for tenure alone are reviewed by committee members at or above the current faculty member’s rank, and applications for promotion are reviewed by committee members at or above the rank sought. All members may vote on lecturer promotion applications. Tenure at or promotion to associate professor requires that the candidate be rated excellent in scholarship or teaching, and at least good in the other areas (teaching or service). Tenure at or promotion to professor requires that the candidate be rated excellent in scholarship, excellent in either teaching or service, and good or excellent in the other category. All school committee members are required to vote by written ballot; these ballots and justifications are added to the file. The SCHS director reviews all the materials submitted and writes a letter summarizing the application and committee decision with a recommendation. All materials are forwarded to the vice president of health sciences, and the VP must write a letter of evaluation for inclusion in the file. The entire file is forwarded to the provost’s office. From there the packet is evaluated by the university’s Promotion and Tenure committee. Since 2010, all faculty (two assistant professors and two professors) who applied for tenure successfully obtained promotion and/or tenure and one lecturer was promoted in rank.

c. Student evaluation of courses and faculty

All courses are evaluated by all students every semester. Evaluation has included both paper and web-based forms. The initial experience with web-based forms was variable and response rates were suboptimal. Paper forms were used for 3 years (2011-12 through 2013-14) to increase the response rate (E-resource: Course evaluations). Since evaluations play a very important role in the improvement of courses and the evaluation of faculty, a concerted effort was made to make the process as confidential as possible while asking for written comments. The staff visited each class at a designated time to pass out and retrieve the written evaluation. Questions with quantitative values were analyzed and written comments were typed up by the staff to provide anonymity for student remarks. This information is available to each faculty member as well as to the Director. With the increase in students, the process

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became too cumbersome and an alternative online process was discussed. This coincided with university efforts to create a centralized online evaluation mechanism. The system was piloted in fall 2014 in two CHS classes and was implemented in spring 2015. http://www.unr.edu/assessment/course-evals ( E-resource: Course evaluations)

Response rates were directly tied to incentives given to students. For example, some faculty provided extra credit, other’s made it an in-class assignment, and the university provided final grades earlier to students who completed the evaluation. For the SCHS, response rates were 75% for the spring 2015 session. The evaluation report of each class and faculty member uses comparative values across the university as a benchmark. The school plans to add questions to the online version to improve targeted assessment information.

Some faculty conduct course evaluations throughout the semester rather than obtaining feedback only at the end of the semester when the course is over. These evaluations can take many forms. Some faculty ask for paper based mid-term self-assessments and others ask for course improvement ideas. Faculty who receive lower student evaluations (typically below 3.5 on a 5-point scale and now 3 on a 4.0 scale) will work with more experienced faculty to establish a development plan to improve their teaching. New faculty and affiliate faculty are mentored by more experienced faculty for some classes already. This will be expanded. The affiliate and adjunct faculty are evaluated in the same manner and evaluations impact future teaching opportunities.

d. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans

This criteria is met.

Strengths: The university offers a number of faculty development opportunities. The travel and research

awards have been used by SCHS faculty. Evaluation is a continuing process and there is now more support from UNR administration to

do more and focused evaluation. There are formal and well recognized policies for faculty promotion and faculty have been

successful.Weaknesses and Plans:

Faculty developmental funds have been limited over the last 4 years. There are now more resources available to support faculty endeavors and it is hoped this will allow for at least one faculty member a year to take a sabbatical.

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4.3 Student Recruitment and Admissions

a. Recruitment policies and procedures

UNR Student Services and the Graduate School provide campus wide resources for recruitment of undergraduate and graduate students. Student Services has a number of programs designed to recruit and retain undergraduate students from a wide variety of backgrounds. Specific recruitment programs target diverse students (see section 1.8) while other programs target high achieving students, National Merit Scholars, out-of-state students, international students, and transfer students. Policies encourage on-campus recruitment efforts run out of the Office for Prospective Students that provide parents and students with campus tours and informational sessions. Specific recruitment for SCHS undergraduate students may start with participation in the Upward Bound or orientation programs. SCHS faculty and advisors talk about the major in CHS and answer questions from prospective students and their parents. A Health FIT (Freshman Intensive Transition) program is in its second year and helps promote enrollment in the SCHS major. The Division of Health Sciences advising staff guide students into the SCHS major, either as a first year student or in transfer from other UNR programs or from community colleges. The SCHS has purposefully not created a minimum GPA requirement for students entering or transferring into the major. Many of our students enroll in CHS in their junior year after exploring other health options or being unable to satisfy major GPA requirements for enrollment in other programs. Although we aspire to have increasingly qualified students in our major, the faculty believe that CHS is a major that can serve many populations and creates skilled students who can work in a variety of settings. The SCHS undergraduate program has doubled in the last 5 years, currently at 1,050 students, and so recruitment activities now focus on encouraging students with interest to consider the MPH programs. Faculty often identify and talk with talented undergraduate students to encourage them to consider a career in public health by entering the MPH program.

The SCHS seeks out undergraduate students at UNR and other qualified and dedicated students with a diverse range of interests and educational and work related backgrounds for the MPH program. These students bring into their programs of study a vast repertoire of experiences and motivations for advancing their public health careers. UNR graduate school policies allow 6 years for completion of a graduate degree and this encourages working professionals to enroll and attend. Diversity students are actively recruited (see 1.8.for more information) in keeping with the mission and vision of the school through targeted outreach and support such as graduate assistantships and scholarships.

The responsibility and activities of recruitment for MPH students are multidimensional and involve many people. The Graduate Director attempts to meet with all interested potential applicants face-to-face when possible before applications are complete or when students become graduate specials. Graduate special students are graduate students not enrolled in the MPH program but who take core courses as a way of evaluating their interests. These students commonly apply to the MPH program. The graduate committee and other individual faculty assist with recruitment strategies through meeting with interested candidates, by staffing tables and booths at conferences/fairs, and by connecting with their professional networks. MPH students help recruit during their internship experiences as they meet others interested in their work. The assignment of one 10-hour graduate assistant to recruitment has been helpful at conferences/fairs as potential students enjoy talking with peers. Typically, the graduate

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director or the coordinator for community engagement attends 1-2 fairs a year to recruit out of state students that contribute to a more diverse student body. The SCHS collaborates with the UN School of Medicine and the Orvis School of Nursing in recruiting joint degree students. As the public health curriculum becomes more complete for medical students, it is hoped that applicants for the joint degree will increase. One important source of recruits is alumni. As the alumni base grows, alumni referrals are becoming more common. Websites are an increasingly important recruitment tool. The SCHS website was updated twice in an effort to promote an attractive, professional and interactive site for prospective students. We continue to look for unique opportunities to recruit students in different areas as identified by our current students, colleagues, alumni, and other community support networks.

b. Admissions policies and procedures

Admissions are overseen by UNR Student Services through the Office of Admissions and Records. They admit students according to the policies created by the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Board of Regents. Procedures are UNR specific and cover the details of how students are admitted and enrolled into UNR. Undergraduate students from Nevada are admitted to UNR according to the following minimum qualifications:

must be a graduate of an approved or accredited high school must have taken and passed: English 4 units, Mathematics 3 units, Social Studies 3 units, and

natural Science 3 units:

must have taken the ACT/SAT (used for placement in first year courses and freshman scholarships): and

must have a 3.0 High School Grade-Point Average (weighted) in the above academic courses

Admission criteria are verified by official transcripts. Other categories of admission include freshmen from Western states (Western University Exchange), transfer students and other admission categories and requirements vary for each. The specifics of the admission process and requirements can be viewed at http://www.unr.edu/admissions. This website has links for all classifications of students (including graduate students) with information on financial aid, residence hall applications, and campus programs. Admission materials must be complete by February 1 for freshman. A process of review of records is done by the Office of Admissions and Records and students are notified in April that they have been admitted. There are many resources to help students through the admissions process. These include web-based information as well as personal communication via email and phone. There are detailed instructions for filling out the FAFSA (parent financial aid form) so that students can receive financial aid to attend UNR. There are a multitude of needs based and performance based scholarships including Nevada’s Millennium scholarships awarded to students who graduate from a high school in Nevada with an entering GPA 3.25, register for core courses and attended a Nevada college or University. http://www.nevadatreasurer.gov/uploadedFiles/nevadatreasurergov/content/GGMS/Forms/Doc-FactSheet.pdf

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Graduate admissions are monitored by Student Services, the Graduate School and each program offering graduate degrees. Overall policies are created by UNR but each program may have specific criteria and processes. UNR admission criteria for graduate school are:

1. Bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from a regionally accredited institution2. Minimum grade point average (on a 4.0 scale):

o 2.75 for a master’s degreeo 3.0 for a doctoral degree

3. Online application 4. Official transcripts from every institution attended for a complete education history 5. Official GRE or GMAT test scores from an exam taken within the past 5 years (recommended

scores are determined by individual programs)6. Resume or curriculum vitae7. Statement of purpose8. Three letters of recommendation

Once the admission qualifications for UNR are met, an application for admission to the MPH program may be made. The SCHS graduate committee reviews admission requirements for the MPH program annually to insure consistency with the program’s mission.

MPH Admissions criteria (specific):1. Baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher learning, with an undergraduate

grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4-point scale. If you graduated from an international college or university, please contact the Graduate School for approval of your undergraduate degree for graduate studies at UNR.

2. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) combined score of 300 (verbal plus quantitative scores), with both verbal and quantitative scores above the 40th percentile. Other graduate entrance examinations are also acceptable (e.g. MCAT, DAT, GMAT, LSAT, OAT, USMLE and NBVME) with a score equivalent to the GRE combined score of 300. The GRE is not required for applicants who have already obtained a Ph.D., M.D., D.D.S., Dr.PH, or Master Degrees from approved institutions. Exceptions may be granted for experienced professionals but taking the GRE is mandatory.

3. Three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with prior academic and/or professional performance.

4. Written statement of purpose. The essay should be at least 500 words in length, outlining the student's interest in public health, potential research interests, and specifying the MPH track of interest (Epidemiology, Social Behavioral Health, or Health Administration and Policy).

5. Current resume or curriculum vitae (CV) which demonstrates evidence of professional and/or educational health-related experience.

6. Academic health-related writing sample.7. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores for applicants from non-English speaking

nations with a minimum score of 550 for the TOEFL paper exam, 80 for the internet-based exam, or IELTS score of 6.5.

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In addition, pre-requisite coursework is required for admission into the MPH Program. Applicants will have:

1. Completed undergraduate or graduate courses in statistics. Statistics must be completed prior to taking CHS 780: Biostatistics in Public Health and CHS 712: MPH Epidemiology. The MPH student may be able to take a statistics course in summer school prior to starting their progression of study in fall.

2. Students who have not completed an undergraduate patho-physiology course must complete CHS 200 - Public Health Biology, a course that grounds a student in health science. It is preferable that the student have this background/course before applying, but with the Graduate Director approval, this course can be taken after admission is approved.

While relevant work in the health field is not required for admission into the program, evidence of this helps ensure a proper alignment and knowledge of public health values consistent with our MPH program. However, we also do encourage students with non-health related backgrounds to inquire about the program and if appropriate, to apply. It adds to the diversity of experiences of students who will now choose public health as a future direction without having had that background in their past.

The Graduate School receives and processes required materials (transcripts and official test scores) from the student in their information system, Nolij. Then, the graduate director (via the Administrative Assistant by accessing Nolij) receives the other materials from the applicant. When the student’s folder, is complete it is forwarded to the graduate director. The admissions committee is composed of the graduate director and representatives from each MPH program. The committee reviews the files and identify missing information or the need for additional information if necessary. Files are reviewed by faculty in each specializations who recommend admission. Admissions are for fall semesters only with a final deadline of January 10th for applications. This deadline was changed to an earlier time for program planning and to encourage earlier commitments to the program through the offer of graduate assistantships and scholarships.

Notifications of acceptance are sent by the graduate director via email. Students may find additional information and instructions for their enrollment in classes and their advisor via website links. An applicant who has one or more deficiencies in admission requirements or in prerequisite coursework may be admitted on a provisional basis. Provisional admits can become regular admits after making up the deficiency and obtaining above a 3.0 GPA in coursework. Students who are not admitted, will receive an email indicating the areas that need further strengthening for a future admission. In concert, our administrative assistant notifies the Graduate School through the Nolij computer-based information system.

c. Recruitment materials and sources of program information

Recruitment materials include brochures, post-cards, and websites. For UNR, the home website attractively displays a number of activities and information on colleges, admissions, and the school. Academic offerings can be accessed from this home page and specific colleges have their own websites for more information. The academic calendar is located in the Academic Central section of the website

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as is the complete UNR catalog. A hard copy of the catalog is no longer published. http://www.unr.edu/academic-centralFor the SCHS, the newly remodeled website sits on the Division of Health Sciences website. Pictures depicting health related scenes and easy to navigate sections provide complete information on all programs of the school. Admission processes are detailed and community partners and alumni are featured to provide context for careers that SCHS graduates may choose. Brochures and post cards are new and sport a new brand developed following a branding exercise involving students, faculty, and community partners. Online recruitment materials: UNR School of Community Health Sciences website: http://dhs.unr.edu/chsUNR SCHS undergraduate programs: http://dhs.unr.edu/chs/academics/undergraduateUNR MPH Website: http://dhs.unr.edu/chs/academics/mphUNR MPH Application Process: http://dhs.unr.edu/chs/academics/mphUNR On-Line Catalogue: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_entity.php?catoid=12&ent_oid=1207UNR Graduate School: http://www.unr.edu/grad/UNR Academic Calendars: http://www.unr.edu/academic-central/academic-resources/academic-calendarOther materials can be seen in E-resource: Student recruitment.MPH Student Handbook (E-resources MPH student handbook)

d. Applicant information

Table 4.3.1 Quantitative Information on Applicants, Acceptances, and Enrollments, 2013 to 2015

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16Epidemiology Applied 13 24 16

Accepted 10 17 13Enrolled 9 13 12

Social Behavioral Health

Applied 6 10 13Accepted 4 9 7Enrolled 4 8 5

Health Administration and Policy

Applied 17 9 11Accepted 14 9 5Enrolled 9 8 4

CHS: BS Applied No application needed

No application needed

No application needed

AcceptedEnrolled

CHS: Public Health BS

AppliedAcceptedEnrolled

CHS: Kinesiology BS

AppliedAcceptedEnrolled

Specialty area is defined as each degree and area of specialization contained in the instructional matrix (Template 2.1.1)

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e. Student information Table 4.3.2 Student Enrollment Data from 2013 to 2016

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

HC FTE HC FTE HC FTE

MPH: Epidemiology 23 19.75 23 17.5 25 22.5

MPH: Social Behavioral Health 22 16.5 17 15 13 12.0

MPH: Health Administration and Policy 5 4 11 9 10 9.5

CHS: BS 828 798.2 965 933.3 1048 Not available

CHS: Public Health BS 643

CHS: Kinesiology BS 405

f. Enrollment outcomes

The SCHS uses both GPA and GRE scores as a way to identify students who are most likely to succeed. In addition, diverse students are energetically recruited (see section 1.8).

Goal 1: “To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers, educators and leaders.”

Objective 1: Recruitment/Admissions Target 2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

1a. 80% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have an overall undergraduate GPA that exceeds 3.2.

80% 67% 83% 53%

1b. 40% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have verbal and quantitative GRE scores that exceed the 50th percentile.

40% 44% 48% 33%

g. Analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans relating to this criterion This criteria is met.

Strengths: UNR has an easy to use and readily available admission website and extensive assistance to help

students enroll. The SCHS website has information and admission requirements readily available for graduate students.

The SCHS admissions process is actively supported by staff and the graduate director. The graduate committee assists in the admission process.

Weaknesses and Plans: There are no specific admission requirements for the undergraduate SCHS program and the

numbers are increasing rapidly. This does not allow for tracking of student GPAs for admission or an understanding of students who are enrolled. There are no plans at this time to implement an admission requirement but the discussion will continue.

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4.4 Advising and career counseling

a. Advising services The undergraduate and graduate programs both provide advising services. The undergraduate advising is done through the academic advising program specific for Division of Health Sciences students. The graduate program advising is accomplished by the School, primarily by the Graduate Director and faculty advisors.

The mission of academic advising at UNR is to assist each undergraduate student in developing and implementing an academic plan designed to meet his/her educational, career and life goals. The advising process is one of shared responsibilities between students and advisors. The mechanism by which advising is provided to students may vary by academic unit. However, it is the responsibility of faculty and staff who serve as advisors to:

1. Be knowledgeable about the curriculum requirements for the program(s) for which they advise2. Assist students in selecting appropriate classes and developing an academic plan that meets

degree requirements3. Assist students in linking program requirements with relevant career and other post-graduation

opportunities4. Be familiar with campus resources and make appropriate referrals when necessary5. Support the achievement of campus-wide goals for increasing graduation and retention rates6. Clarify and provide accurate and timely information about university policies, regulations and

procedures7. Be available and accessible to student advisees on a regular basis8. Maintain student confidentiality in accordance with FERPA9. Be proficient in the use of the university's student information system/computerized advising

tools relevant to the advising process.

It is the student's responsibility to:

1. Seek advising assistance in a timely manner2. Come to advising appointments prepared3. Become knowledgeable about university, college/school, and departmental program

requirements associated with his/her major(s) or minor(s) as well as relevant policies and procedures

4. Take the initiative to become familiar with and utilize available campus resources5. Keep his/her advisor informed of any changes that might impact or interfere with satisfactory

academic progress6. Take responsibility for his/her actions and decisions

The role of an academic advisor is to assist, not make decisions for students. (taken from the advising web-site as noted below)

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Students (and their parents as applicable) are informed of resources via mail, online communication, and during orientations. The many services of Academic Advising are listed on their website. More information and details can be found at: http://www.unr.edu/academic-central/academic-advising.

The DHS advising staff provide advisement for students in the schools that comprise the DHS. They provide services for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors; for academic probation/dismissed students; for student athletes; for transfer and out-of-state students; for pre-nursing students and they assist with career counseling. There are a number of resources for freshman including Nevada FIT (Freshman Intensive Transition) a 5 day intensive experience designed to improve student success. There is a specific Health FIT for CHS majors that is now in its second year. It runs the week before the fall semester begins and has an intensive agenda designed to improve the confidence and success of freshman in CHS as they start their academic careers.(agenda for Health FIT 8.15 in E-resource). More information is found at their website: http://dhs.unr.edu/students

At the school level, the Undergraduate Director works closely with the advising staff to answer questions and address concerns for individual students and address curricular problems. Printed information sheets about the CHS majors are available at the School’s office and on the website. Examples of printed information include lists of required courses for each of the undergraduate majors, suggested sequencing to graduate in 4 years, and resources for tutoring. Faculty provide informal advisement to students after classes, through teaching assistantships, in joint research projects, during volunteer activities, and by appointment. All faculty keep and publicize office hours to meet with students.

Graduate students initially meet with the Graduate Director to explore options and to ask questions about the admission process and coursework. Students with particular foci of interest are referred to faculty in that area of specialization for more formal advisement.

Upon admission, the Graduate director matches MPH students with an advisor based upon their program specialization and personal interests. The advisor assists them with their Program of Study (POS) and course selection, and begins the development of their MPH experience. Advisors meet with students each semester to assist in planning coursework and to work with the Field Studies coordinator and student to select and implement an appropriate internship. They also assist the student while they are in the MPH Capstone Course, all in alignment with the student’s career goals and objectives. During the final phases of the professional paper and presentation development, advisors play an important role in editing and providing feedback to students. Faculty advisors provide letters of recommendation for students as they enter the workforce or professional or academic training.

The MPH student orientation was originally a half-day event in the fall and it now a full-day event every August.. The orientation is a time to meet faculty, other students and alumni, to become familiar with the MPH Student handbook (E-resource: MPH Handbook) and to ask questions. One new session was added to define and discuss professionalism as it applies in public health. (E-resource: Advising; MPH orientation 2015). Those who do not come to the orientation meet with the Graduate Director and/or advisor to receive the information provided at orientation.

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At UNR, students who are not officially admitted into a master’s program of study and/or are in the process of completing their application, may take up to 9 units as Graduate Specials. When admitted to the MPH program, these courses can transfer into their program of study. The number of Graduate Special students is an indicator of interest in the program and of future admissions. All Graduate Special students are initially advised by the Graduate Director and/or a course faculty member until admitted into the program. Over the last 3 years, graduate specials have numbered 50 and 75 % have transitioned into the MPH program. More effort is required to track and advise these students. Difficulties arise in trying to keep them in progression or when they change their emphasis. Graduate special students stay in contact with the Graduate Director and are tracked via an internal database to ensure smooth progression to MPH admittance.

To prepare faculty in their roles as advisors there is a faculty orientation and an advisor guideline ( E resource: Advising; MPH advisor timeline) that defines the tasks and highlights the timeline for MPH students to complete their studies and their papers. In addition, the graduate committee provides information to keep the other faculty members aware of changes.

b. Career counseling services for students

Career counseling is formal and informal for both undergraduate and graduate students. Nevada’s Career Studio offers a multitude of services to help UNR students, both graduate and undergraduate, identify career paths, consider potential employers and gain important skills. The Career Studio provides a number of tool kits for students to explore careers. Opportunities are available to students to gain an understanding of the necessary skills, such as resume writing and interview techniques, to obtain a job after graduation. Services can be one-on-one but most are online and offered in training sessions. The DHS academic advising core provides career counseling as part of their one-on-one interactions with students and will send students to the Career Studio for additional assistance. More information can be found at the Career Studio website: http://www.unr.edu/career

At the SCHS, we are a central hub for career opportunities and internship postings from many organizations in the Northern Nevada area as well as out of the area employers. These are posted on the undergraduate and graduate Bulletin Boards, shared on our list-serve and on our WebCampus site. We use WebCampus postings for internships, fellowships, and job openings. The CHS Bulletin Board in the school’s building has fliers from graduate schools and other job openings in the area and nationally.

The other more formal resources are both the Graduate School and the Graduate Student Association http://www.unr.edu/gsa/ who represent groups committed to the professional development of UNR students. They host a graduate school fair each fall for all UNR students to explore graduate offering including the MPH program. Each spring, a UNR career and internship fair is held on campus and students are encouraged to attend. http://www.unr.edu/grad

Professional development for undergraduate majors is formally done in the CHS 345 “Ethics and Professionalism in Public Health” class and in CHS 494, “Field Studies in Public Health”. With Career Studio assistance, students are required to write resumes, practice interviewing skills and discuss appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. Student learning outcomes include development of a project

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at the internship site that requires demonstration of organizational and presentation skills. Preceptors identify these efforts as attractive skills for future employees.

Orientation for the internship experience for graduate students (CHS 798: Field Studies in Public Health ) includes a discussion of professionalism and appropriate behavior and attitudes that impact job performance and evaluation. This has paid off with student internships evolving into student employment opportunities. A good deal of career counseling occurs during the professional development portion of the capstone class. Special sessions and assignments related to professional development include: group facilitation and mediation, public speaking, how to be a good supervisor, resume development, how to land a job, public health ethics, and the future of public health as a profession.

Near the end of the course students complete a competency assessment to identify competencies that need to be further developed. Students use this assessment to develop a post-graduation professional development plan. Graded assignments include:

1) Resume2) Job search and application development 3) Oral presentation (including professional dress and conduct) 4) Post-graduation professional development plan 5) Ethical issues in public health practice

In the less formal and more MPH program specific career counseling, there are many who contribute to the students’ future: their advisor, other MPH faculty, alumni, and faculty/community mentors. Public health professionals are frequent guest speakers to classes and are available during and afterwards for students to consult with about their career choices and possibilities. As students are completing their internships, they are encouraged to meet other people at their sites, besides the preceptor, in order to create a broader network.

Because all students have advisors, a major source of career counseling is 1:1 mentoring related to the job application process. Faculty review job applications, resumes, and cover letters and provide letters of recommendation as requested for current students and alumni.

c. Student satisfaction with advising and career counseling services A formal student advising satisfaction survey of UNR undergraduates was completed in the spring semester 2015. One hundred and four students who returned surveys assessed the Division of Health Sciences advising services from many viewpoints. Overall student satisfaction scores ranged from 3.2-4.0 on a scale of 1-5 and 50% of students ranked services as good or very good. The survey indicated good information was presented but students at times did not feel welcomed. The Director of Academic Advising & Student Achievement will be conducting regular student satisfaction surveys in the future. With the new tracking system scheduled to start in April 2016, there will be faster feedback and better detail to help improve advising services further. (E-resource: Survey, Advising Evaluation).

Of the 2011 to 2014 graduate survey respondents, on a scale from 1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree, 85% agreed or strongly agreed that “Overall, MPH faculty were supportive of my academic

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interests.” Comments about strengths of the program also indicate high levels of satisfaction with faculty support and advisement.

“Very supportive faculty who have a genuine interest in your success. Also the support with the capstone course in completing the final paper and presentation was excellent!”

“The professors and faculty cared about the students and were willing to provide as much guidance and help as needed (as long as the students are willing to work).”

“Advisers/professors who really wanted their students to learn and were involved often gave the best learning opportunities to my cohort.”

“The availability of faculty, and the individual interest faculty showed in each student. I always felt I could talk any faculty member and they were willing to work with or help me.”

“Professor involvement with students. Most took the time to know students and help them when asked. It was also nice that there was a firm schedule on what needed to be accomplished in order to graduate.”

“The faculty are very good about taking an interest in what you hope to gain from the program and work hard to accommodate that.”

“Strong, committed faculty who focus on student development Low professor: student ratio Plenty of

opportunities for students to be involved in leadership and/or research”

While most MPH graduates appear to be satisfied with their experiences with faculty advising, a few mentioned having some issues with advising, such as lack of advisor availability or involvement in the professional paper process.

In the past three years, there have been 4 requests by students to change advisors. This is a small percentage and is one indicator that there is satisfaction with the services provided. We also understand and support students in seeking out advising and career support from many sources beyond their advisor and beyond our walls.

d. Managing student complaints and grievances The process for students to communicate program/academic concerns has been substantially upgraded over the last 3 years. There is now a centralized UNR office, the Concierge Service, where forms and procedures for concerns are initiated and followed. Details are posted on the website: http://www.unr.edu/academic-central/academic-resources

The Concierge Service has seven categories in which students concerns can be filed:

General advising questions: concerns that have not already been addressed by one’s academic advisor

Grade Appeal: complaints about a grade received in a course (students are required to consult with the instructor prior to pursuing this complaint)

Poor Advising: complaints about the perceived quality and/or accuracy of academic advising Poor Instruction: complaints about the perceived quality of instruction for a course

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Course Availability: complaints about the availability of a course offering required for a student’s program

Course Policies: complaints about the policies being enforced in a particular course Other: academic complaints not covered in the previous categories

Upon receipt of the filed concern, the student is contacted within two business days to confirm receipt, request additional information (if needed), and to indicate initial routing of the issue. In some cases, a complaint may be immediately referred out to other offices for review (i.e. sexual harassment, academic integrity, disability compliance, etc.). Names are confidential depending on the cause. The students must disclose their names and student ID to the Concierge Service. In cases of grade appeals, the information will move into the procedure for grade appeals described in the administrative manual and in the General Catalog.

A grade assigned by an instructor is only subject to the appeals procedure if there was a clerical/administrative error in the calculation and/or assignment of the grade, the grade assignment was based on factors other than the student's performance in the course and/or completion of course requirements or the grade assignment meant that the student was held to more demanding standards than other students in the same section of the course. The burden of proof of these conditions rests on the student.

There are four possible processes for grade appeals, the most common complaint identified in the SCHS. 1. Student consults with instructor before filing a grade appeal;2. Student files a grade appeal using the online Concierge Service;3. Student meets with the department chair or with both the department chair and instructor; and4. Department chair appoints a grade appeal review committee.

There are detailed directions for each of the processes that can be found at: http://www.unr.edu/administrative-manual/3000-3999-students/3510-grade-appeal-policy-and-procedures

Follow up action is initiated if the concern or complaint is not addressed by referring it to a higher level of authority. For SCHS this would mean involvement by the Director and if needed, the Vice President for Health Sciences. The Concierge Service supplies a record of complaints and responses to the relevant Associate Dean(s) and the Office of the Provost at the end of each Fall, Spring, and Summer academic term. (policy in e resource http://www.unr.edu/administrative-manual/3000-3999-students/3511-processing-of-student-academic-complaints )

As with all programs, the SCHS program strives for a professional, collegial relationship with all students. There are other less formal opportunities for students to voice their concerns. Undergraduate syllabi include office hours and invitations for students to meet with faculty regarding any issue but particularly if there are concerns with academic performance. Many issues are addressed at this level. The more formal procedures offered through UNR are available for students who may not be able to resolve issues or are concerned about retaliation.

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Depending on the type of concern the student may have, there are several options for resolution: If the concern is about a course, students are encouraged to seek assistance first from the

course instructor, then from his or her advisor and/or graduate director. If a result is still not satisfactory, the student may file a complaint with the Concierge Service.

If a concern involves the advisor and/or internship preceptor, the student is encouraged to seek assistance from the graduate director and/or internship coordinator, and finally the director of the school. Again, the route would then be to the Vice President for Health Sciences.

If a graduate assistant has an issue with their supervisor, the student can come to the graduate director and/or then to the director of the school.

If students have issues with other students, this would be formally handled though the instructor and/or advisor, depending on the situation.

In any case, if a student is not comfortable discussing the issue with the graduate program director, he/she may approach the graduate curriculum coordinator or Director.

Regardless of the issue, MPH students may choose to meet with and process the issue with another MPH student.

The SCHS Director is usually the last step in any concern resolution.

There have been 5 student grievances that came to the director in the last 3 years dealing with both undergraduate and graduate students. One of these came from a graduate student who had complaints regarding a faculty member’s responsiveness. Four came from undergraduates who had grade issues. All were resolved at the school level and did not require further efforts. These grievances were handled by meeting with the students and with the faculty. No systemic issues were identified.

e. Analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans relating to this criterion.

This criteria is met.

Strengths: There is a well-established process for handling student concerns that has become more

standardized and more easily accessed over the last two years. This process is overseen by a university office (as of fall 2014) to make it less intimidating for students.

The inclusion of career preparation into the undergraduate curriculum has improved the internship experience for students and their preceptors during the students’ senior year.

Weaknesses: Lack of information for the three years preceding 2014 for grievances. Students don’t declare their CHS major early in their academic tenure and that makes it very

difficult to advise and assist students to complete their degrees in a timely fashion.Plans:

The availability of the new students tracking system will assist the undergraduate program to do a better job with advisement and career counseling. The analytics of the program assist in identifying programs where students may find more success based on grades in key courses.

Lack of specific questions about advising on the MPH graduate and alumni surveys. Faculty will add questions to capture this information for the future.

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