2002-2004 Middle States Reaccreditation

Themes

In preparation for its ten-year reaccreditation, Stony Brook University (SBU) has chosen for its institutional self-study the selected topics model. The topic of the self-study is "The Student Experience at Stony Brook," where the study will not only include undergraduate students, but also graduate students and professionals from the health sciences center. The objective is to examine the experience of all students in the entire institution, measure student-learning outcomes, and determine the value and effectiveness of the education provided at SBU. An objective, too, is to use the findings from the study to reinforce the positives of SBU and instill changes throughout the entire university community that will make the university an even better place for education and living. Through the self-study, a set of deliverable actions will be established that will have a positive impact on the experience of SBU students. The progress in these areas will form the core around which the 2009 periodic review report will be organized.

The self-study is organized around five themes. They are as follows:

Theme 1: Transition to Stony Brook
Who are our incoming students, how do we prepare them before they begin their education at Stony Brook, and how do we facilitate their transition to Stony Brook? This theme should cover the students' first experience with Stony Brook including their first few weeks here. We should consider the experience of our freshmen, transfer students, and first year graduate students. Issues to be addressed include student orientation, academic advising, and students' familiarity with student life.

Theme 2: Foundational Experience
Do the first and second years of our students prepare them for further success at Stony Brook? Issues comprise academic foundations, doing well in introductory large classes, interaction with faculty and TA's, mentoring, social adjustment (social clubs), etc. For graduate students, major issues are teaching assistantships, mentoring, and expectations.

Theme 3: Education and scholarly activities
Do we provide an integrated diverse education for Stony Brook students? Topics include teaching, learning, research and creative activities, science for the nonscientists, libraries, labs, and instructional facilities, the role of research in education, and interdisciplinary programs.

Theme 4: Stony Brook as a community
How good is the Stony Brook community as an environment for intellectual growth of our students? The scope of the theme is quite general. It consists of issues like interactions among different communities at SB, interactions with off-campus communities, the social and cultural experiences and their integration with the academic experience, diversity, commuters, etc. The physical environment and services are also part of this theme.

Theme 5: Life beyond Stony Brook
Are our students prepared for life beyond Stony Brook? The focus is on the adequacy of our programs for preparing our students for life beyond Stony Brook. We should also look at internships, preparation of graduate students for academia (teaching), expectation of employers, and other related issues.