PCOE Annual Program Review

Department: Human ServicesAcademic Year Reviewed: 2010-2011

Data Reviewed: TExES Results on Braille TExESReviewed by: TProPVI

Date Reviewed / Areas of Strength / Areas of Concern / Program Changes / Timeline / Person Responsible
May 10,2012 / -- Overall performance of students tested
-- 20 students attempted the test with 19 passing
-- Student performance was strong on three of the four domains reported / -- Students who passed the exam had markedly higher scores in reading as compared to transcription / -- This summer, the instructor will require students to purchase different text books that can serve as supplemental practice
-- She will also emphasize transcribing skills throughout the class / -- Summer 1 and 2 / Deborah Cady

Department: Human ServicesAcademic Year Reviewed: 2011-2012

Data Reviewed: Qualifying Exam for the VI TExESReviewed by: TProPVI faculty

Date Reviewed / Areas of Strength / Areas of Concern / Program Changes / Timeline / Person Responsible
May 10,2012 / -- characteristics of students with visual impairments
-- programming essentials and planning
-- roles and responsibilities of TVIs and COMS / -- Assessment at all levels: Functional Vision Evaluation, FIE for babies, academic students, and multiply impaired students / -- Additional activities will be included in SPE 516, 552 and 551
-- The Qualifying Exam will be closely examined by the Program faculty; modifications will be undertaken as necessary / -- June 2012through May 2013 / -- Deborah Cady
-- Michael Munro
-- Tracy Hallak

Enrollment: Please provide 3 years of enrollment data for your program and a brief discussion of the trends in enrollment.

2009-2010 80 students(48 TVI and 32 O&M)
2010-201167 students (35 TVI and 32 O&M)
2011-201223 MEd (some completing from earlier registrations)

57 (30 TVI and 27 O&M)

These numbers are reflective of our program at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in both the TVI and O&M programs.
Our elevated numbers in 2009-2010 are due to a special face-to-face program that we taught in Region 5 (Silsbee).
The number of MEd students over this last academic year is based on a review of our Master’s program that resulted in modification of the capstone class (SPE 570) to include the use of Research Teams. A conscious effort was made to contact all of our students who had finished their didactic work but needed to complete their major project. This increased our output of students from zero in the 2010-2011 academic year to 8 this semester.
Throughout this three-year project we have been supported by a pre-service training grant form Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. A high percentage of this money is used to support student stipends which includes payment of the student’s tuition and fees. As the tuition and fees have been increased, fewer students could be supported by the grant. This has led to fewer completers. Interestingly enough, our applicants to the program have increased. This year, for example, we have over 60 applicants but only 33 grant positions.

Status of the Profession: Please provide a brief summary of state and national trends that are or will affect your program.

The most significant impact on our profession took place during the last Texas legislative session. Senate bill 54 was passed in the last legislative session. Up until the passage of this law, any teacher could take the statewide TExES test in both braille or visual impairment without the approval of the university who did their training. Essentially, anyone could take the test and become a certified TVI. Senate bill 54 has two significant requirements. First, one must have a bar code from the university that did the prospective teacher’s training before they can sit for the TExES exams. Second, students must have completed their entire course of study (including the practicum) before they will be eligible for full certification. Other legislation regarding teacher certification requires us to visit the student on site a minimum of three times during their first year of certification. Therefore, Senate bill 54 has meant the following things to our program:

We will now be much more involved in our student’s initial year of teaching.
We will now receive accurate and specific information from state testing.
We will be able to control the quality of our graduate’s training and readiness to take the TExES.

Status of Program: Please provide a brief summary of any other issues that may affect your program.

Funding -- as tuition and fees increased fewer students can be supported on our grant funds.
Requirements that we visit Practicum students three times -- Since our students are all distance education learners (from Brownville, Victoria, Houston, Mt. Pleasant, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Amarillo and San Angelo) it will be much more expensive to visit them. The expense will be in both faculty time and travel money.