College of Education

Program accreditation

Accreditation Report

Section III: Evidence of Meeting Each Standard (continued)

Standard 6: Unit Governance and Resources

The unit has the leadership, authority, budget, personnel, facilities, and resources, including information technology resources, for the preparation of candidates to meet professional, state, and institutional standards.

Unit Leadership and Authority

The College of Education at Washington State University is one of 10 academic colleges, each presided over by a Dean. Since the last NCATE continuing accreditation review in 1996, the COE experienced a change in leadership due to the resignation of Dean Bernard Oliver, in 1997. Following an extensive national search, Dr. Judy Nichols Mitchell was selected as the new Dean of the College in 1998.

At the time of the 1996 NCATE review, there were three academic departments in the College: (a) the Department of Teaching and Learning, (b) the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology and (c) the Department of Kinesiology and Leisure Studies. As an outcome of several faculty retirements and resignations within the Department of Kinesiology and Leisure Studies, coupled with a reallocation of resources within the College to further support the teacher education program, a decision was made to phase out two undergraduate options, (a) Exercise Science and (b) Recreation and Leisure Studies). Undergraduate degree options in Movement Studies and Athletic Training were moved to the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology, and the program in Health and Fitness Education was moved to the Department of Teaching and Learning. The Department of Kinesiology and Leisure Studies was closed as an administrative unit in January 2001.

Administration of Professional Education Preparation Programs

The College of Education continues to hold primary responsibility for all programs offered at the institution for the initial and continuing preparation of teachers and other P-12 professional school personnel. Three oversight committees assist the Dean of the College of Education in administering the preparation programs:

  1. The Council of Deans is comprised of the Deans throughout Washington State University who have departments or programs that contribute directly to the preparation of teachers. At present, these are the Deans of the College of Education, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Sciences, and the College of Agriculture and Home Economics. The specific roles and responsibilities of the Council of Deans are outlined in Section 4, Bylaws of the Teacher Education Committee.
  2. The Teacher Education Committee (TEC) consists of selected faculty members throughout the University who are involved in teacher education. The committee meets on a regular basis throughout the academic year and coordinates all aspects of the teacher education program. The composition of this committee is outlined in the Bylaws of the Teacher Education Committee, as are the responsibilities delegated to the group. Common topics for consideration in TEC include (a) approval of new endorsement programs, (b) approval of changes in program requirements, (c) approval of major changes in courses or requests for new courses, (d) review of teacher education program admission requirements and procedures, (e) review of assessment plans and procedures, and (f) review of field placement policies and procedures.

  3. The Professional Education Advisory Board (PEAB) is a group of university faculty and field-based P-12 practitioners charged by Washington Administrative Code (WACs 180-78A-205, 180-78A-207 and 180-78A-209) with responsibility for overseeing the nature and quality of preparation programs for professional school personnel. WACs specify that each preparation program must have a PEAB. At WSU, then, there are three such units: (a) the Teacher Education PEAB, (b) the Counselor PEAB, and (c) the School Administrator PEAB. A fourth PEAB with which the College has contact is operated by Eastern Washington University, and serves as a coordinating board for the joint WSU/EWU school psychologist certification program in Spokane, as well as for a graduate degree program in school psychology at EWU, Cheney.

    Also available for review are the annual reports for the Teacher Education PEAB, the annual reports for the Administrator PEAB, and the annual reports for the Counselor PEAB.

In addition to the formal mechanisms in place to facilitate cooperation between and among academic units offering courses in the teacher education program, a major goal of the five-year, $9.6M project, entitled Collaboration for Teacher Education Accountable to Children with High Needs (CO-TEACH), has been to "Increase the amount of significance of collaboration between WSU faculty. . . and to create an institutional and faculty climate that supports and rewards excellence in teacher preparation by College of Education (COE) and non-COE faculty" (CO-TEACH Summary Statement, 2000, p. 2). Now in its third year, the College of Education's CO-TEACH project has had a significant impact on increasing the amount of collaboration between and among WSU faculty in the Colleges of Education, Liberal Arts, Sciences and the General Education program on the Pullman campus. Faculty members from each college serve on the CO-TEACH Steering Committee and provide input and direction on the focus of the work for the grant. Pullman faculty members from each college have also participated in seminars on course revision and incorporation of technology in course design.

The project also fosters collaboration on a statewide basis through partnerships with Community College faculty that prepare teachers thorough the College of Education's 2+2 programs. Collaborative teams of WSU and Community College faculty have been formed to work on course revisions. Activities include modifying existing courses based on the Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs), as well as national standards. Revisions of this nature also occur in the content area methods courses taught by College of Liberal Arts, Sciences and General Education faculty.

To recognize the efforts of faculty from the Colleges who collaborate on teacher preparation initiatives, the Deans of the Colleges of Agriculture and Home Economics, Education, Liberal Arts, and Sciences meet to select a faculty team each year who have demonstrated effective collaboration and innovative practices in the pursuit of teacher education to receive the Excellence in Teacher Preparation Award. This award supports the creation of an institutional and faculty climate that supports and rewards excellence in teacher preparation by College of Education (COE) and non-COE faculty.

In addition to the development of collaborative efforts with faculty across programs and institutions, CO-TEACH had led to strong working partnerships with 31 partnership schools in Washington State (see section on field placements, Standard 3).

Overall the CO-TEACH project seeks to establish a culture in which collaboration and teacher preparation are considered valuable contributions to scholarly activity at both the institutional level and the field level. Research publications, incentive grants, and recognition by WSU's central administration are essential components of this partnership.

Other Major Committees and Advisory Groups within the College of Education

In addition to the groups that provide oversight for professional education preparation programs (above), the WSU College of Education has a number of standing committees and advisory groups. These committees and advisory groups operate in accordance with the principle of shared governance espoused by administrators and faculty members at Washington State University. These committees and advisory groups are described briefly below:

  1. Deans/Chairs Group

    This body, composed of the Dean, the Associate Dean and each of the department Chairs within the College of Education, meets monthly to discuss matters pertinent to the operation of their units and to make decisions regarding administrative issues related to departmental/college programs, personnel, and budget-related issues. (Minute of meetings of the Deans/Chairs Group are available in the Exhibit Room,)

  2. Deans Advisory Committee

    This body is composed of the Dean; Associate Dean; Chair, Teaching & Learning; Chair, Educational Leadership & Counseling Psychology; Director of Extended Programs and Partnerships; Director of Teacher Education Field Services; Director of 2+2 Programs; Education Program Coordinators at WSU-Spokane, WSU-Vancouver, and WSU Tri-Cities; Director of Student Services; Development Director; Coordinator of News & Information; Director of Information Systems; Director of Recruitment & Retention; Finance/Administrative Officer; Head Librarian, Brain Education Library; Director of Co-TEACH; Chair of CEFAC; and an undergraduate and graduate student representative.

    The council meets monthly to share information and to discuss issues of relevance to the College. The purpose of the committee is to serve as a body for communication and discussion of college-wide issues and act as a recommending/advisory group for the Dean regarding administrative/academic issues, outreach/branch campus issues, support unit issues, and other college issues. As indicated in the council title, the group is advisory to the Dean. (Minutes of meetings of the DAC are available in the Exhibit Room.)

  3. 3. College of Education Faculty Affairs Committee (CEFAC)

    The Provost established this standing committee in 1990 when the college faculty and the Dean were at odds on a number of administrative and programmatic issues. Because of the potentially adversarial role of the committee concerning the Dean, the decision was made to restrict CEFAC membership to tenured faculty members.

    In recent years, the role of CEFAC has changed, as has its relationship with the Dean. Currently, CEFAC's functions are to provide advice to the Dean and other college administrators as well as to respond to requests from faculty members regarding programs and activities of the college. Specific functions include making recommendations to the Dean on tenure and promotion and professional leaves, and appointment of the selection committee for the Faculty Excellence Awards. However, it does not duplicate the assigned functions of the college's administration, committees and departments.

    The committee is composed of nine members: three members elected from each of the departments of Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology, and Teaching and Learning and an elected member from the Education faculty at each of the branch campuses. (Minutes of CEFAC meetings between 1996 and 1999 are available for review in the Exhibit Room.)

  4. Dean's Faculty Advisory Committee (DFAC)

    Because CEFAC is composed of only tenured faculty members, the current Dean, Judy Mitchell, has taken steps to establish an additional advisory body that would have representation from the pre-tenured faculty, as well. This committee, established during the 2001-2002 academic year, is composed of the regularly elected tenured members of CEFAC, plus elected non-tenured faculty members as follows: (a) Each department elects one pre-tenured faculty member based on the Pullman campus and one non-tenure track faculty member from any campus; (b) Each branch campus elects a pre-tenured faculty member, if available; if not available, a non-tenure track faculty member may be elected. Thus, the Dean's Faculty Advisory Committee consists of 16 members: 9 tenured and 7 pre-tenured/non-tenure track. Its primary responsibility is to serve as a faculty committee or forum through which the Dean can seek regular advice and feedback as issues arise.

  5. College of Education Diversity Committee

    The College of Education Diversity Committee is composed of faculty, staff and students throughout the College who advocate increased attention to diversity. Established in 1991, the committee has taken an active role in planning and coordinating in-service education; recommending policies and procedures that would increase the number of diverse faculty members, staff members and students in the College of Education; and working for curriculum changes that increase attention to the needs of diverse students. (Minutes of meetings of the Diversity Committee are available in the Exhibit Room.)

  6. College of Education Graduate Studies Committee

    The College Graduate Studies Committee has existed for over 30 years. Currently, the committee is composed of three graduate faculty representatives from each department, elected by graduate faculty members of the department they represent. The committee elects its own chair from among the members. The Associate Dean and the Head of the Education Library serve as ex officio members of the committee.

    The purpose of the Graduate Studies Committee is to (a) recommend action to the College Graduate Faculty on appropriate matters and (b) advise the Dean regarding exceptions to policy, major and minor curricular change requests, periodic review of graduate specializations, allocation of teaching assistantship positions, and disposition of applications for election to membership on the Graduate Faculty. (Minutes of the College Graduate Studies Committee are available for examination in the Exhibit Room.) :

  7. College of Education Technology Advisory Committee

    This committee, established in 2001, is advisory to the Director of Information Systems within the College of Education. Its purpose is to discuss and make recommendation regarding the manner in which technology is used and to provide input into policies and procedures. It serves as a forum for discussing what new technologies are needed within the college and will review the five-year plan on an annual basis. The committee will meet three to four times per year.

    The membership includes representatives from the following areas and departments:

    • Each department is represented by one staff member, two faculty members, one graduate student, and one undergraduate student.
    • Each Branch Campus has one representative.
    • Each of the following administrative units within the College units has one representative: Dean's Office, Finance, Partnerships, Information Systems, Camp Larson, Student Services, Recruitment & Retention, Funded Projects, Development, News & Information, Brain Library and High School Equivalency Program.

    Representatives serve two-year terms, with half the membership elected each year. The committee elects its own chair, who serves for a one-year term. The Associate Dean and Director, Information Systems are ex officio members.

Unit Budget

Expenditures in the College have increased in four of the last five years. Resources have been available to carry out the programs essential to achieving our mission during this period. In addition, over the last three years the College has been able to eliminate a budget deficit of approximately $1.2 million--combined state and non-state funds. One reason this was possible is that participation in the CO-TEACH grant (funded by the Department of Education) provided state salary accruals for several faculty. In addition, every program was reviewed to ensure that all were operating as efficiently as possible. College needs were prioritized and resources were maximized.

Within the College of Education, resources are allocated to programs in a manner that allows each of them to meet its expected outcomes. Budget trends over the past five years, and future planning, indicate adequate support for the programs offered in professional education (see following table).

Total College Expenditures: 1996 - 2001
Budget Year:
1996-1997
1997-1998
1998-1999
1999-2000
2000-2001






State Funds
5,245,449
5,202,304
5,248,182
5,188,187
5,534,823
Grants & Contracts
1,414,336
817,665
869,573
1,185,979
2,176,753
Development
536,657
430,221
621,073
430,164
470,081
Self Sustaining
275,973
276,623
264,926
275,562
222,834






Total Funding
7,472,415
6,726,813
7,003,754
7,079,892
8,404,491

Detailed budget information for the College of Education is available in the Exhibit Room. Information includes funding for technology resources, scholarships, and faculty development activities. Also available in the Exhibit Room is a recent 2001 Financial Report for the entire institution.

Personnel

As is true of any Research-Extensive university, tenure-track faculty members at Washington State University are expected to include in their workload (a) teaching, (b) research and scholarly activity, and (c) service. Within the College of Education, the expected teaching load is the equivalent of four (4) three-semester-credit courses per academic year (see Principles Regarding Teaching Load). In addition, faculty members are expected to be active in research, grant writing and other creative and scholarly pursuits on an ongoing basis. The stated goal is for each faculty member to publish a scholarly paper each year (see Accountability Definitions for COE). WSU adheres to a shared governance philosophy, and is expected that faculty members will participate actively in departmental, and COE committee activities. As a faculty member achieves seniority and tenure, it is also expected that he/she will assume leadership roles on university committees. Finally, each faculty member is encouraged to develop professional relationships and to seek leadership opportunities in professional organizations with which he/she is affiliated.

Teaching assistants and adjunct faculty are employed to lighten the teaching load of tenure-line faculty and to bring students into contact with persons with special areas of expertise. Teaching assistants and some adjunct faculty work with undergraduate classes; other adjunct faculty work primarily with graduate classes. The CO-TEACH project has also enabled the College of Education to employ a number of highly qualified faculty on a temporary basis to assist with particular areas of preparation.

It is the policy of the College of Education to select teaching assistants for the teacher education program who have a history of successful teaching experience in the public schools before returning to the university for graduate study. To further assist these persons, each is assigned to a course coordinator-a faculty member who oversees and coordinates all sections of a particular course. For example, Dr. Paula Groves is the course coordinator for T&L 301 (Learning and Development), and oversees the work of all TAs assigned as instructors for that course. The TAs under her direction develop a common syllabus and set of assignments, and meet on a regular basis throughout the semester to discuss and coordinate their activities.

Clinical faculty members are included in the College of Education as valued colleagues. They are successful professional educators who have a minimum of three years teaching experience and work closely with university faculty. Many clinical faculty partner with university faculty for site-based support and seminar participation. Additionally, clinical faculty serve on university committees providing "real" input and strengthening the classroom and field components.

Professional development within the College of Education consists primarily of two kinds: (a) travel to and participation in professional actives related to the faculty member's field of expertise and (b) inservice activities delivered on site through the College or University (see Unit Facilitation of Professional Development in discussion of Standard 5).

Unit Facilities

The College of Education operates 218,469 square feet of facilities. This space is largely located in three buildings (Cleveland, Smith Gym, Physical Education Building) on the Pullman campus but also includes 22,638 square feet at Camp Larson (25 buildings ranging in size from 75 square feet to 5,633 square feet). Space allocated to the College is used by the Academic Departments, College Administrative Offices, Teacher Education Student Services, Educational Partnership Center, the CO-TEACH program, the High School Equivalency Program and a development office. In addition, by agreement with the University, the Pullman High School Alternative Program (an axial College program) is housed in Cleveland Hall.

Work has recently been done to freshen the classrooms in Cleveland Hall - four were painted and two received new furniture. New lighting is being installed in the foyer and stairwell area of Cleveland Hall. This will improve safety on the stairs and also make it easier for those who choose to study at the tables in the foyers on each floor.

The College is particularly proud of our new Computer Lab. It is newly completed and will ensure that we have the necessary communications infrastructure to carry us through for a number of years. There is a large teaching lab, a production lab with high-end equipment and a server room. In addition, there is a conference room with Polycom equipment to permit quality video conferencing with our colleagues throughout the state. There is ancillary space for the offices and work benches of the support staff.

Each member of the faculty in the College of Education has a personal computer in his/her office. Each computer is connected to the WSU computer network, which provides access to university computing resources (e.g., Registrar's Office Network, Administrative Information Systems, etc.) as well as to personal e-mail and the world wide web.

In total, facilities and equipment belonging to the College of Education are functional and well maintained, supporting computing, educational communications, and educational and instructional technology at a level consistent with that of other units in the institution.

Unit Resources Including Technology

Introduction

The Information Systems Unit is a service and support unit under the College of Education, Dean's area, providing multiple technical services and resources to students, faculty, and administrative units. It supports all programs, grants, and administrative support units with infrastructure, connectivity to the University, and server banks providing database management, data storage, and the college web site. It consists of six classified staff positions and one administrative exempt. The unit works collectively to provide a 24-hour turn around on most work orders and continually looks to better its service commitment.

The newly remodeled Technology Center is located in Suite 57 on the lower level of Cleveland Hall totaling over 4,800 square feet. This facility offers students, faculty, and staff a large, 50-computer lab/classroom, a top-end multimedia production lab, a small WHETS video conferencing lab, and an area for a video conferencing totaling 3,395 square feet. The remaining space houses equipment and personnel for the Information Systems Unit.

The college received a $327,000 grant from Microsoft Corporation for software to bring current all machines within the college and its branches.

Computer Labs/Classroom Support

The large computer classroom consists of 30 newly purchased Dell Dimension and Apple G4 computers with current software consisting of Microsoft 2000, SPSS statistical software, and multimedia/graphic capabilities. These machines have home run connections at the rate of 100Mbs (fast Ethernet) to fiber optic cable within the university and out to the Washington K-20 network. Each provides the user Internet connection, email capability, word processing, multimedia capability, and connection to university services.

The production lab has four high-end Mac's and PC's along with peripherals such as scanners, color laser printers, digital video equipment, touch screens, analog/digital converters, sound and film editing, and DVD burning designed for educational technology projects.

Through $35,000 in alumni donations and matching university funds, the unit has provided multimedia carts consisting of a laptop computer, Infocus projection unit, VCR and speakers for each of the 12 classrooms. Each of the 12 classrooms also has received new overhead projectors for transparencies. Members of the faculty, staff, and graduate students have full access for class presentations and lectures.

Network Services

Four servers that provide websites, data storage, databases, and connectivity to the university support the College of Education. Every desktop computer is connected to the server farm. The new Technology Center boasts 100Mbs to the desktop and fiber connection from the server to the outside K-20 communication lines.

The network has 144 Gigabits of storage space to serve classroom projects, multimedia, and data storage. Each individual within the college is provided a space on the server. The server is backed up each day on any changed information and the entire system is backed up on a weekly basis. The Information Systems Unit along with the University Information Technology Department maintains security.

Software/Hardware Support

The College of Education recently received a $327,000 grant from Microsoft allowing for current software for word processing, data base, spreadsheets, internet publishing, and server operating systems. Virus protection and statistical software have on-site licensing. The unit is committed to desktop support for both hardware and supported software. All hardware is purchased through the unit to provide consistency and the best pricing.

Multimedia/Video Conferencing

The new multimedia production lab consists of four high-end computers, both Mac and PC, and are capable of burning DVD CD-ROM's, VHS, and digital media. Further, the lab is equipped with a full line of media production software such as Macromedia Director 8, Adobe Pagemaker, Dreamweaver, and Illustrator. A digital camera and digital video cam provide input for graphics and video for producing educational media. All faculty, staff, and graduate students have access to these facilities. Educational technology/multimedia classes are taught using this lab and the main computer lab.

Infrastructure

The Information Systems Unit (ISU) in conjunction with the Information Technology (IT) department for the university maintains the technological infrastructure. A liaison from IT has been designated as a link between the college and the university and provides the second tier of services not available directly from ISU. The new Technology Center has new wiring, both copper and fiber, to provide a super fast connection to the Internet and the server information. It enables streaming video capabilities and clear video conferencing abilities serving as many as 30 people. Ports have been enabled in all major classroom to encourage technology in teaching.

Training

Both basic and advanced classes are offered within the ISU on a semester basis for faculty and staff. The subject matter varies and is driven by faculty and staff needs. One-on-one, two-hour sessions are available upon request.

Equipment Checkout

A variety of equipment is available for check out to students, faculty, and staff.

Web Services

ISU provides web services to all departments, grants and areas of the college. A new web site has recently been developed. It has been redesigned to provide users an easy-to-follow, professional format. Although work continues on this project, the majority of the design and data is completed.

The College of Education is supportive of technology and believes it to be an integral part of the educational process. Omnibus money has been set aside each year to provide new and upgraded machines, new technologies and software continuing its commitment to an ever-changing environment. Further, donations have been set aside for improvement in classroom technology. MCI dollars has given us the ability to remodel our facilities to better serve students and faculty. The College of Education is committed to technology and training and continues to support it through budget and staff each year.

Report on Library Services

Introduction

The Washington State University Libraries provide a wide variety of resources to the faculty, staff, and students of the College of Education in support of its programs in K-12 teacher education, school counseling, and educational administration. While these resources are distributed throughout the WSU library system, the primary library service point for the College of Education is the George B. Brain Education Library (referred to hereafter as the Education Library).

The Education Library is located on the first floor of Cleveland Hall and houses a collection of approximately 50,000 monographic volumes, 10,000 juvenile volumes, 2,000 K-12 textbooks, 350 active serial titles, and microform collections including a complete collection of ERIC documents, the Kraus Curriculum Development Library, and a variety of education journals. The library is staffed by 1.25 FTE faculty librarians and 2 FTE staff members. Scott Walter, who holds graduate degrees in both education and library science, and who has been involved in teacher education for over a decade, heads the library.

While the collections housed in the Education Library focus on K-12 teaching, school counseling, and educational administration, materials related to allied fields can also be found in other WSU library units. For example, the Holland/New Library holds materials related to counseling psychology, human development, and sport studies. Likewise, the Owen Science Library holds materials related to mathematics and science education. The total WSU Libraries collection includes over 2,000,000 monographic volumes, 27,000 active serial titles, and a broad range of resources available through electronic means. All of these resources are readily available to the faculty, staff, and students on the Pullman campus, and a rapidly-increasing number of them are easily available to our faculty, staff, and students housed on branch campuses and at learning centers throughout the state through the use of full-text electronic resources such as Electronic Collections Online, E*Subscribe, and Education Full-Text, as well as through the use of interlibrary loan services.

Library Collections

Collections are the cornerstone of the WSU Libraries' support for the College of Education. The Libraries acquire resources related to the field of education in a variety of ways, and provide access to these resources through a number of different means.

Although the primary responsibility for acquiring materials for the library collections resides with the members of the library faculty, collection development is a collaborative process. The Education collection is managed by the Head of the Education Library in regular consultation with members of the College of Education, including the members of the newly-formed Education Library Advisory Committee, which is comprised of representatives from each academic department in the College, and from the College faculty, staff, and students. Formed in Fall 2001, the Education Library Advisory Committee is currently comprised of Scott Walter (Libraries), Forrest Parkay (ELCP), Barbara Gupta (ELCP), Deanna Gilmore (T&L), Lynda Paznokas (T&L), and Larry MacKenzie (ELCP graduate student).

The budget for Education Library collections has fluctuated over the past five years in response to budget cuts and re-allocations within the university and the Libraries. Currently, the 2001/2002 budget is set at approximately $88,000, which is a significant increase from earlier years. This figure does not include the budget allocated for the collection of materials in other library units that are germane to coursework in the College of Education (e.g., sport studies, human development). Also, it does not include the considerable monies received from central library funds to support the provision of electronic resources related to the field of education (e.g., Education Full Text).

  1. General Collection

    As noted above, the WSU library system currently holds over 2,000,000 monographic volumes and maintains 27,000 active serial titles. Education faculty, staff, and students, can find resources of interest in several library units, especially as space concerns in the Education Library require the transfer of older and lesser-used materials to storage facilities in the Holland/New Library. The Education Library currently maintains a collection of approximately 50,000 monographic volumes, 10,000 juvenile volumes, 2,000 K-12 textbooks, and 350 active serial titles.

  2. Reference Collection

    The Education Library maintains approximately 2,000 volumes in its reference collection. This collection includes research encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographic guides to research literature, educational directories, statistical information, and information on educational law. Also included are guides to the use of materials specific to the Education Library such as juvenile literature and test information. Additional reference materials related to the allied fields are housed in other library units.

  3. College of Education Theses and Dissertations

    The Education Library maintains a complete collection of all theses and dissertations completed in the College of Education. Archival copies of each item are also available through the Department of Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections in the Holland/New Library.

  4. Electronic Resources

    The WSU Libraries provides access to a wide range of electronic resources relevant to research and practice in the field of education. Chief among these resources are:

    • ERIC and E*Subscribe - the WSU Libraries provides access to ERIC, the major database for education research, through OCLC FirstSearch. This version of ERIC is linked to two related databases: Electronic Collections Online (ECO), which provides direct access to electronic journal articles; and, E*Subscribe, which provides direct access to electronic versions of approximately 80% of the "education documents" indexed in the ERIC database since 1993.
    • Education Full Text - the WSU Libraries provides access to the full-text version of the Education Abstracts database (the electronic version of Education Index). This version of Education Abstracts provides access to almost 300 of the journals indexed in the database.
    • Kraus Curriculum Development Library - the WSU Libraries has long provided access to the KCDL in microfiche, but it now provides access to KCDL Online. This database provides access to information on the past 20 years of curriculum materials reproduced on KCDL microfiche, but also provides direct access to Web-based instructional materials added to the KCDL collection from 2001 - .

    In addition to these "core" resources, the WSU Libraries provides access to related research databases such as PsycInfo (psychology) and Sociological Abstracts (sociology), as well as to additional electronic journal collections that include education journals, e.g., Project Muse, JSTOR, and Science Direct.

    Finally, the Education Library provides access to additional electronic resources, including electronic journals, electronic research reports, and state and federal government information through its Web-based Guide to Information Resources in Education.

  5. Scholarly and Professional Journals

    The WSU Libraries maintains a collection of 27,000 active serial titles. Over 62% of all titles indexed in ERIC are available through the Libraries either in print or electronic format. Over 87% of all titles indexed in Education Index are available.

    The WSU Libraries has greatly increased electronic access to education journals over the past 2 years. Currently, over 6,000 serial titles are available electronically to WSU faculty, staff, and students. Education users are served in particular by Electronic Collections Online, a database of electronic journals that includes many titles indexed in ERIC; Education Full Text, a database that incorporates the indexing function of Education Index but also provides electronic access to almost 300 core teacher education journals; and, ProQuest, a general database that provides electronic access to a wide variety of journals, including many related to education. The provision of these databases allows the WSU Libraries to provide instantaneous access to journal literature not only to faculty, staff, and students in Pullman, but to any of our users found on branch campuses and learning centers throughout the state.

  6. Juvenile Literature

    The Education Library maintains a collection of children's and young adult literature currently housing approximately 10,000 volumes. The collection includes the winners of major awards for children's and young adult literature (e.g., Caldecott, Newbery, King, and Printz awards), as well as a selection of titles identified as outstanding by professional organizations such as the National Science Teachers Association and the National Council of Social Studies. The juvenile literature collection has been greatly enhanced over the past two years through the work of the current Head of the Education Library and his predecessor.

  7. P-12 Textbooks

    The Education Library maintains a collection of K-12 textbooks for the purpose of providing pre-service teachers and administrators with access to K-12 instructional materials. Currently holding approximately 2,000 volumes, this collection has changed greatly since the last NCATE visit. A large number of outdated materials have been weeded from the collection and new materials are being acquired both by direct purchase and through a new program seeking donation of materials from school districts across the state.

Library Services

In addition to providing access to a wide range of professional and scholarly material, both in print and electronic form, the WSU Libraries support the programs in the College of Education through a variety of professional services. Chief among these are reference services, instructional services, and interlibrary loan services.

A Fall 2000 survey showed that 72% of all WSU library users were either "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the reference service provided by the WSU Libraries. In the Education Library, 90% of respondents were either "satisfied" or "very satisfied." The Education Library maintains this high level of reference service by providing assistance to library users in person, over the phone, via electronic mail, and by maintaining an extensive Web site that provides guidance in how to find and use print and electronic resources relevant to the field of education. This Guide to Information Resources in Education, completely revised, updated, and expanded in 2001, can be found online.

The WSU Libraries have also been very active in preparing our users to become efficient and effective users of information resources. Information literacy has become increasingly important to all library users as the information environment both on campus and in the workplace has become more complex over the past several years. Becoming information literate is especially important to K-12 educators, who must not only be prepared to make use of information resources and information technology in their teaching, but who must be able to provide information skills instruction to their own students. The Education Library provides a full range of instructional services to the faculty, staff, and students of the College of Education, including stand-alone workshops, course-related instruction, and a for-credit course specifically aimed at preparing education students to become information literate. Members of the library faculty have also provided instructional presentations as part of student and faculty orientation, and as part of programs sponsored by College groups such as the Student Washington Education Association (SWEA) and CO-TEACH.

A broader description of the WSU Libraries' library instruction program can be found online.

Finally, the WSU Libraries makes the resources of other libraries available to our users through a variety of interlibrary loan services. Chief among these is CASCADE, a consortium of the six public universities in the State of Washington. Using CASCADE, WSU faculty, staff, and students, can request materials from Central Washington University, the University of Washington, and other state schools. In the near future, interlibrary loan services will be further improved by the initiation of broader consortial arrangements growing out of our participation in the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) and RAPID. ILLiad, a new software program, will even allow the library to send electronic copy of requested materials directly to the requestor's desktop.

Conclusions Regarding Library Resources and Services

The WSU Libraries provides a full range of support to the research and teaching in the College of Education. Collection areas that may have been problematic in the past (e.g., juvenile literature) have been greatly improved over the past two years, and plans are in place to assure that improvement continues to be made. In addition, while the level of funding for the education collection has not been completely consistent over the past few years with programmatic needs, the faculty, staff, and students of the College of Education have benefited from the Libraries' ability to leverage central resources and to effectively link our resources with those made available through library consortia. Communication between Education Library users and the WSU Libraries has been facilitated by regular user surveys and has been improved over the past year by the hiring of a permanent Head of the Education Library and by his active participation in College student, faculty, and committee meetings. While there is always room for improvement, the WSU Libraries have shown a clear commitment to the College of Education and to providing access to education collections and resources to our faculty, staff, and students across the state.

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