The subcommittee that reviewed Standard IV made the following conclusions:
· An appropriate and efficient governance/administrative structure is in place to direct the formulation of policy at both the School and University levels.
· Responsible fiscal management is being practiced as evidenced by a broad array of financial indicators. A review of available financial resources indicates broadly based, excellent financial health for all areas of the School.
Examples of Evidence:
·
Appointment
Letter (Dean’s
Letter of Appointment, June 2003)
·
Organizational chart (UABSO
Organizational Chart 2008-2009)
·
Position
descriptions of key
administrators
Dr. John Amos was appointed as Interim Dean and began in this capacity on October 16, 2000. On his selection as Dean, authority for the School’s professional program was given to Dr. Amos in the official letter of appointment dated June 4, 2003. Signed by UAB Provost Eli I. Capilouto and President Carol Z. Garrison, the letter clearly defines the scope of the Dean’s responsibility and charge to fulfill the program’s mission.
Policies concerning issues including, but not limited to those referenced above are contained in the UAB Faculty Handbook or the UAB Policies and Procedures Manual.
· Conflict of Interest is covered in the UAB Faculty Handbook Sections 3.5.3 and 8, and in the UAB Policies and Procedures Manual; Policy # 614 – Conflicts of Interest (4/05) http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=44516
· Due process is covered in the UAB Faculty Handbook Sections 2.6.11 and 2.9 as well as Appendix A
· Non-discrimination is covered in UAB’s Equal Opportunity Policy in Section 8 of the UAB Faculty Handbook and in the Policy and Procedures Manual http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=44383
· Disclosure and confidentiality of records is covered in the UAB Policies and Procedures manual; Policy # 408 – Confidentiality of Records (12/02) http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=44457
· Fiscal accountability is addressed in the Dean’s Letter of Appointment dated June 4, 2003 and signed by the University’s Provost and President. As well as in the Dean’s Letter of Authority from the Provost dated August 15, 2008.
Examples of Evidence:
·
Organizational chart (UABSO
Organizational Chart 2008-2009)
·
Surveys of
constituents
Student survey
Staff survey
Alumni survey
Faculty survey
As part of the self-study process, the School invested in a survey software system (Zoomerang). The Self-Study Committee then worked to compile a list of survey questions for each of the School’s constituents – faculty, students, staff and alumni. Each survey was customized to address a specific target group. On July 22nd an email was sent to all faculty, staff and students in the rising second, third and fourth year classes. The email provided a link to their specific Zoomerang survey site, written instructions and a deadline of August 8th. Alumni surveys were distributed in the same manner by the Office of Alumni Affairs on August 6th with a deadline of August 22nd. Upon completion of the survey, anonymous responses were uploaded to the Zoomerang site for analysis. With the exception of a limited number of demographic questions, no effort has been made to identify respondents. The response rates are listed in the following table:
|
Constituents |
# of Surveys Sent |
# of Responses |
% of Responses |
|
Alumni |
600* |
207 |
35% |
|
Faculty |
54 |
41 |
76% |
|
Staff |
84 |
43 |
51% |
|
Students |
131 |
88 |
67% |
|
Total |
869 |
379 |
44% |
*The number of surveys that actually reached alumni
has been estimated. The Alumni
Association
had email addresses for 754 alumni; however, over 150 were returned as
“undelivered.”
Self Study 2008
School Survey Outcomes
For each survey question, the mean score is based on
the following scale:
Strongly Agree = 5, Agree = 4, Neutral = 3, Disagree
= 2, Strongly Disagree = 1, Cannot Make a Judgment = omitted. % J = percentage of respondents who “could
make a judgment” (that is, had the requisite knowledge or experience of the
subject of the question to make an informed judgment). This pertains only to question 7 below. All percentage values
rounded to the nearest whole number.
Not all questions have a “CMJ” option.
Raw data from all surveys are accessible from the
links below.
|
1. “I am
(alumni "was") familiar with the organizational structure of the
School of Optometry”
|
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2.
“There are clearly defined reporting relationships (chain of command) within
the School.”
|
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3. “I know the person to whom I
should go if I have a problem.”
|
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4. “The number of administrative
positions is (alumni "was") appropriate for the size and complexity
of the School.”
|
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|
|
Alumni
Responses by Graduation Date (7 year groupings) |
||||
|
Year |
1973-1979 |
1980-1986 |
1987-1993 |
1994-2000 |
2001-2007 |
|
Mean Score |
4.05 |
4.00 |
3.69 |
3.90 |
3.85 |
5. “The administration keeps me
informed about issues that affect me.”
|
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6. “The administration of the
School is responsive to my needs.”
7. “The administration of the
School is responsive to my concerns.”
8. “My opinion is important to
the School's administration.”
Questions 9, 10 and 11 list means scores (out
of 5) only for each surveyed group regarding their opinions of the
effectiveness of key administrators (Q9) and of key committees (Q10) and of
their own roles on committees. 9. “In their administrative
roles, the following are meeting their responsibilities:”
10. “The following committees
meet their specific objectives:”
11. “Role” on school
committees:
12. “The optometric
program is conducted in such a way as to encourage open communication
throughout the school”. (Staff – “The
administration encourages open communication within the school.”)
|
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Faculty, staff, students, and alumni responded to survey questions relating to the organizational structure within UABSO, the communication between them and the school’s administrators, the efficiency of the school’s administrators, and the efficiency of the various school committees. Staff, students, and alumni agreed by 84%, 51%, and 75%, respectively that they are/were familiar with the school’s organizational structure and chain of command. Although 93% of faculty are satisfied with the organizational structure and chain of command of the school, only 47% of the faculty agrees that UABSO encourages open communication between its administration and faculty. This is also evident in the survey (questions 4-7 in the Faculty survey). Less than 70% of the faculty agree: (1) that the administration keeps them well informed about the issues that affect them, (2) that the administration is responsive to their needs and concerns, and (3) that their opinions are important to the administration of UABSO. A similar concern from the faculty regarding open communication was also reported in the 2001 Self-Study. This continues to suggest that the effects of communication from the faculty to administration may not be effectively reflected back to the faculty to the degree that they influence the program. However, presently 72% of the staff agrees that there exists open communication between them and the administration of UABSO.
Efforts have been made on an ongoing basis by the UABSO Dean and Administration to provide communication with all stakeholders since the last site visit by the ACOE. Likewise, communication, being a two way process, is strongly encouraged of faculty, staff and students. Their collective input and perspective are highly valued by the School’s Administration.
Beginning in 2003 the Dean has presented an annual “State-of-the-School” report to faculty, staff and students. For the past three years this report has been presented in early to mid-February during the lunch hour. Lunch is provided to all attendees and approximately 175 faculty, staff and students have attended this presentation. This report is also made available on the School’s web-site. In this manner this information may be reviewed by those unable to attend the presentation.
Information is also provided to the Department Chairs, Chief-of-Staff and Center Directors, by the Dean, during the monthly Executive Committee meetings. Much of the information discussed during these meetings is available for the chairs, chief-of-staff or center directors to share as they deem appropriate with their respective faculty, staff and students.
A monthly meeting is held with the Dean and senior staff representing all programmatic or administrative elements of the School, to hear activity reports given by each representative. This meeting of senior staff is known as the Dean’s Work Circle. The minutes of this meeting are distributed to all faculty and staff. Of those distributed, these minutes are among the most carefully reviewed by the faculty.
Three times a year (October, January and April) the Student/Faculty Liaison Committee meets. During these lunch time meetings, the Dean, Director of the Professional Program, Director of Clinical Programs, Director of Student Affairs, Program Manager of Student Affairs and faculty representatives meet with the class presidents and the UABSO-AOSA President, to communicate information regarding programs/activities and to learn of class/student issues/concerns. This setting allows for discussion related to student issues/concerns and provides information related to rationale for decisions made or for gathering student perspective on forthcoming issues. This is a very valuable meeting for addressing student issues/concerns in a timely manner.
The Director of Clinical Programs meets on a monthly basis with the Directors of the Clinical Services. This meeting, known as the Clinic Council, provides a venue for discussion of topics related to the general operation of UAB Eye Care or other affiliated clinics, regarding specific issues/concerns of the various services. These service areas include: Ocular Disease/Low Vision, Primary Eye Care, Cornea and Contact Lenses, Pediatric Optometry, Community Eye Care and Optical Services. The minutes of this meeting are provided to each director to share with faculty who serve as attending clinicians in the services or others as deemed appropriate.
The Chair of each department holds quarterly department meetings with an agenda. This is distributed prior to the meeting and an e-mail message is sent as well to faculty for possible agenda items. The Dean attends many of these department meetings to provide updates or answer questions. Joint department meetings are held once or twice a year, to address issues of interest or concern to all faculty, or to hear messages from university administration. In addition, the faculty advisory committees of each department (OFAC and VSFAC) serve as a “bridge” for communication between faculty and the chairs.
The Office of Student Affairs sends an e-newsletter Eye Witness News approximately once each month, depending on the amount of material submitted, to faculty, staff and students. This newsletter contains news from each class, announcements, information about residency programs, as well as scholarship availability.
Three times each year, the Dean writes a “From the Dean” message to alumni in the UAB Optometry news magazine. These messages are on a variety of topics. Each issue of this news magazine attempts to communicate to faculty, staff, students, alumni, the university community, friends and vendors/corporate partners, articles of interest regarding programs and activities, as well as interviews with faculty, students, alumni and members of the Dean’s Community Advisory Committee. Alumni also receive a number of publications from the UAB National Alumni Society and other UAB entities that have articles on the School of Optometry.
As a result of financial considerations, the number of issues of UAB Optometry news magazine is being decreased from three to two, beginning in 2009. An e-mail newsletter is being investigated for possible annual or semi-annual distribution.
The Dean also writes a “Dean’s Report” for each of the three issues of Alabama Insight (available on site) that are published on an annual basis by the Alabama Optometric Association (ALOA). This publication is mailed to every member or student member of the ALOA. A majority of members of the ALOA are also UABSO.
Finally, the Dean, Chairs, Clinic and Center Directors maintain an open door policy in which faculty, staff and students are free to stop by the office or schedule an appointment, if they desire, to discuss issues or concerns they may have.
A portion of the survey addressed whether the administrators of the school have been meeting their responsibilities. The Dean, Director of Professional Program, Clinical Chief of Staff, Director of Student Affairs, and Director of Administration and Finance were evaluated. Over 70% of the faculty agreed that the Dean, Director of the Professional Program, and the Director of Student Affairs were effectively meeting their administrative responsibilities. The largest proportion of faculty felt that they could not make a judgment about the effectiveness of the Clinic Chief of Staff or the Director of Administration and Finance. However, of the remaining respondents, the two positions scored 4.07 and 4.00 respectively. A much larger percentage of both staff and students answered this portion of the survey with a not applicable response, making the value of the remaining responses less informative.
A critical function of faculty and others involves serving on school committees. Eight committees were evaluated as to whether or not they meet their objectives. Generally, the faculty agrees strongly the committees they serve on are productive and appropriate for each faculty member’s interests. However, 26% feel their various committee assignments interfere with their other responsibilities. Over 70% of the faculty agree that the objectives of the Executive, Curriculum, Admissions, and Academic Review Committee are being met. However, only 29% agree that the Honor Council meets its objectives. A review of the Honor Code is presently ongoing by the chair of the Honor Council with assistance from the Office of Student Affairs.
·
Appropriate Document (Dean’s Letter of Authority, August 2008)
·
UAB Organizational chart (UABSO Organizational Chart 2008-2009)
The institutional structure is clearly
defined by the UAB Organization Chart and further outlined in the Dean’s
Letter of Authority from
the Provost, dated August 15, 2008. The University’s
retention policy is addressed in the UAB Faculty Handbook as follows:
“Members
of the faculty also may hold administrative or other non-faculty appointments
at UAB. Administrative appointments are for no specific term but continue at
the discretion of the appointing administrator.” (Section 2.3.5.3 Non-academic
Appointments)
4.2
The program must be
conducted at an institution accredited by a regional accrediting body
recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or is recognized by another authority deemed
appropriate by the Council.
Examples of institutional
accreditation:
Available at the SACS website: www.sacscoc.org
As of 2005, the official language describing the University’s accreditation status is as follows:
“The University of Alabama at Birmingham is accredited by the
Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools to award degrees at the
baccalaureate, masters,
specialist,
and doctoral levels”
The above statement is available for review at http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=699
The next university review of accreditation by SACS is scheduled for 2015.
·
Curriculum vitae
·
Copy of
transcripts(on site)
·
Copy of diplomas
(on site)
Dr. John F. Amos as Dean is the program’s chief executive officer. Dr. Jimmy Bartlett, Chair of the Department of Optometry and Director of the Professional Program is the program’s chief academic officer. Dr. Rodney W. Nowakowski as the Chief of Staff oversees the clinical programs. Each of these administrators has a Doctor of Optometry degree and a long and distinguished history of successful academic administration. Their curriculum vitae are included. Also included is the CV of Dr. Gerald Simon, Director of the Office of Student Affairs. Dr. Simon assumed this role in 2004.
The credentials for each administrator have been verified through transcripts from the academic institutions from which they received their terminal degrees. Copies of these transcripts are contained in their personnel files on site.
Examples of Evidence:
·
Appropriate
Documents:
o Dean’s
Letter of Appointment, June 2003
o Dean’s
Letter of Authority, August 2008
·
Position description
Fiscal responsibility is specifically addressed on page three of the June 4, 2003, Letter of Appointment to Dr. Amos from the University’s Provost and President and also in the Letter of Authority from the Provost dated August 15, 2008.
·
Organizational
chart (UABSO Organizational
Chart 2008-2009)
The reporting relationship within the School of Optometry is identified by the UAB School of Optometry Organizational Chart and the School’s standing committee structure.
The performance expectations are stated in the UAB Faculty Handbook Sections 2.2 - 2.5. The Dean receives an annual performance evaluation from the Provost. The School’s Department Chairs and Chief of Staff are given annual performance reviews by the Dean. In addition, the Faculty Senate utilizes a process to assess all administrators (President, Provost, Deans and Department Chairs) every two years at the University level. Drs. Adam Gordon and Michael Loop are the School of Optometry’s elected representatives on the University Faculty Senate. Alternate representatives are Drs. John Classé and Melanie Sivley.
·
Applicable
financial and/or budgetary documents
·
Analysis of
historical financial resources
·
Projection of
financial resources
The UABSO possesses sufficient financial resources to develop and sustain the program on a continuing basis. UABSO revenues and expenses have increased by 32% and 26% respectively between fiscal years 2002-03 and 2007-08. During this 6-year period the state appropriation represented the largest source of revenue (46%) followed by tuition and fees (19%), IER/indirect cost recovery (16%) and clinic patient revenue (14%). These percentages, as a proportion of total UABSO revenues, have remained relatively constant over this time period. State support increased 55%, tuition and fees increased 53%, and clinic patient revenue increased 43%. IER decreased by 28% due to sharply reduced federal funding for research along with a change in NIH priorities with regard to support of optometric research. While some of the reduction in NIH funding has been offset by foundation and industry sponsored awards, the indirect cost rate for these awards is only 19% versus 45% for NIH projects. The School is forecasting a turnaround in the trend towards reduced IER revenue and believes it is currently at a plateau with modest increases anticipated in the next five fiscal years. This is entirely due to the dedication and perseverance of UABSO research scientists who aggressively pursue funding opportunities. New sponsored projects totaling $10, 276,342 have been awarded during calendar year 2008, and an official NIH award notice for $1,818,750 was issued on September 18, 2008 for a 5-year proposal submitted by Dr. Alecia Gross. These awards will greatly impact IER income to the UABSO over the next several years.
The primary optometry teaching clinic, UAB Eye Care, was re-opened for patient care on September 7, 2004 and officially dedicated on November 13, 2004 after being completely renovated at a cost of approximately $5 million. Additionally, $1 million was spent on new furnishings and ophthalmic equipment. The 14-month project was funded 80% by the UABSO and 20% by the UAB Provost’s Office. The renovation expense was paid from current resources and private fund raising and did not involve debt financing.
The 6-year period from FY2002-03 through FY2007-08 has been remarkable in the fiscal history of the School. During this time, 27 new scholarships were established and over $12.1 million in gifts was received. New resources have allowed the School to recruit, develop and retain outstanding faculty and staff, attract outstanding students to the program, and develop and maintain state-of-the-art infrastructure.
The UABSO has never experienced a fiscal year where revenues did not exceed expenses. Decisions regarding the allocation of financial resources are made by the collective UABSO leadership after thoughtful prioritization of programs, opportunities and activities that will facilitate fulfillment of the School’s mission.
·
Most recent
audited financial statement (on site)
·
Administrative
policies and procedures (on site)
The UAB School of Optometry
utilizes sound, generally accepted, financial management procedures to assure
effective monitoring, control and accountability of its financial
resources. The UABSO, as part of the
larger University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), must comply with established
institutional, state and federal financial management policies and
procedures. The
Financial Accounting System (FAS) that had been UAB's primary recordkeeping and
reporting system since October 1983 was replaced in 2004 with the Oracle
accounting application. This web-based
system has virtually eliminated manual financial transactions and has several
checks and balances that ensure accuracy of data, along with a variety of
reporting options for the timely dissemination of financial information.
Standard IV: List of Hyperlinked Documents and Pages
|
Document/Page |
Hyperlink |
Reference in Report |
|
Dean’s Letter of
Appointment |
Dean’s
Letter of Appointment, June 2003 |
4.1, 4.1.1, 4.4 |
|
Dean’s Letter of Authority |
4.1.1, 4.1.3, 4.4 |
|
|
UABSO Organizational
Chart |
4.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.5 |
|
|
Key Administrative
Personnel |
4.1, 4.4 |
|
|
UAB Faculty Handbook |
http://main.uab.edu/Sites/provost/facultyresources/facultyhandbook/ |
4.1.1, 4.5 |
|
UAB Policy and Procedures Manual |
4.1.1 |
|
|
UABSO Website |
4.1.2 |
|
|
UABSO Eye Witness News |
4.1.2 |
|
|
UAB Optometry Magazine |
4.1.2 |
|
|
Dean’s Community Advisory Committee |
4.1.2 |
|
|
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools |
4.2 |
|
|
“About UAB” |
4.2 |
|
|
CVs for Drs. Amos, Bartlett, Nowakowski and Simon |
4.3 |
|
|
2008 Self Study Survey Data |
4.1 |
|
|
2008 Self Study Alumni Survey Data by Grad. Year |
2008 Self Study Alumni Survey Data Grouped by Graduation Year |
4.1 |