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Creativity Fuels Innovations in Texas A&M Design Class

The academic programs in the College of Architecture are dedicated to the discovery, dissemination, and advancement of knowledge in the fields comprised by built, natural, and virtual environments. Methods of delivery of instruction vary from subject to subject within the College but we generally place a high importance on engagement in studio and practicum learning environments. Student success is predicated on the capacity to engage in iterative problem solving techniques that require creative, intuitive, and situation dependent approaches layered on top of a foundation of factual knowledge, basic theory, and awareness of current professional practice standards. Teaching in the College of Architecture is thus considered effective when exhibition of student work and the interest of industry professionals indicate that our students are prepared to address complex problems in environments, including industry and graduate programs, recognized to be at the leading edge of advancement in our respective fields.

Metrics for evaluating progress toward persistence and graduation, as predictors of student success:

• Time to graduation by degree (and by categories and demographics of students admitted into each degree program – e.g., first year full time freshmen, automatic admits, transfers, changes of major, etc.)
• Average number of credit hours per semester, and associated percentage progress toward degree completion
• Credit hours taken during summer semesters
• Student retention, as a function of demographics
• Percentage of graduates professionally employed within six months of graduation
• Percentage of graduates admitted to graduate programs at peer institutions
• Percentage of graduates within a five year window who have become registered professionals and/or who have obtained specialized certificates

Practices for evaluation and recognition of teaching effectiveness:

• Student evaluations of individual faculty members per course per semester
• Departmental annual evaluations of individual faculty members’ productivity, innovation, multidisciplinary activity, and internationalization in teaching
• Exit interviews covering the learning experiences of graduating seniors

Additional metrics for evaluation and recognition of scholarship in students and faculty:

• For Students:
  • Number of students winning national design competitions;
  • Number of peer-reviewed journal articles co-authored by students and their advisors;
  • Number of national conference presentations by students;
  • Number of graduates receiving academic positions at graduation;
  • Number of students holding leadership positions in the national professional/academic societies.
• For Faculty:
  • Number of publications in highly selective, refereed conferences and journals and research monographs;
  • Number of citations collected from different sources;
  • Number of faculty on editorial boards of highly selective journals;
  • Number of faculty receiving awards from broadly recognized professional/academic societies;
  • Number of faculty holding leadership positions of state and national professional/academic societies;
  • Number of professional/academic society fellows.