The Office of Admissions, Registration & Records collaborates with the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) and the Faculty Senate to ensure that academic credit is assigned in compliance with clearly defined rules and regulations. Specifically, evaluation of student learning or achievement and the award of credit are based upon clearly stated and distinguishable criteria as outlined in the Portland State 2003-2004 Bulletin (p. 49, 50, 62 and 64).
Criteria for evaluating student performance and achievement, including those for thesis, dissertations, and portfolios, are appropriate to the degree level, and are clearly stated and implemented. Standards are maintained through a curricular review process at both graduate and undergraduate levels (Faculty Governance Guide, p. 9-10). Curriculum review committees consider methods of teaching and evaluation, required clock hours per week, rationale for proposal in terms of place in program and educational purpose, expected distribution of registrants between lower/upper division and graduate students, topical course outlines, and clearly differentiated course requirements and grading requirements for undergraduate and graduate students.
Information Technology
Portland State has enhanced its use of technology to manage and organize student records. Cornerstones of this effort are the automated transfer evaluation and degree audit systems for both undergraduate and graduate students. These systems have reduced errors and improved the accuracy and consistency of transfer evaluation. System features allow students and advisors timely access to official degree progress reports for students. In addition, online grading now allows direct entry of grades by faculty, resulting in a more accurate, secure and timely grading process. Student term grades are available electronically to students the morning after grades are due. Online systems at Portland State allow a student to update changes in major or personal information. An electronic Schedule of Classes provides updated class schedule information throughout the registration and enrollment period. Graduate students have access to information about graduate credit and transfer policies through the Office of Graduate Studies and their respective program web sites. Individual programs review and determine within Graduate School guidelines, issues of transfer and articulation with program requirements.
Transparency
Over the last few years, efforts have been made through the curriculum committees, the Office of Academic Affairs, and the Faculty Senate to strengthen academic integrity in a number of ways. In 2002, the University began systematic enforcement of defined course prerequisites during registration. The Faculty Senate now requires that all 400-level courses have defined course prerequisites or expected levels of preparation necessary for successful completion of the course. The Faculty Senate restricted the practice of cross-listing omnibus-numbered courses (courses that do not have a discreet course number) with discrete numbered courses, and began enforcing the restriction that limits the offering of a course under an omnibus number to three times before it must be approved with a permanent course number.
Most, but not all noncredit offerings are administered through Extended Studies. The University maintains clear distinctions between degree and nondegree credits in a number of ways. The distinctions are published in the Portland State 2003-2004 Bulletin (p. 16). Use of terms such as "continuing education credit" is accompanied by a clear statement regarding acceptability of such credit toward degrees offered by Portland State. Additionally, official Portland State transcripts note when any credit awarded is nondegree. For example, the Portland State transcript specifies 099 course numbers as "Basic courses that carry no credit toward a degree." Extended Studies programs that offer nondegree credit courses or Continuing Education Credits (CEU's) also make specific reference to these distinctions on registration materials and other publications.
Transfer Students and Co-admission
Portland State serves large numbers of transfer students and has established co-admission programs with four local community-college partners. Procedures for acceptance of transfer credits and safeguards to ensure quality and relevance are found in the Portland State 2003-2004 Bulletin (p. 45-46). Criteria for acceptance of transfer credit are explained through the online Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS). In 2002, the Oregon University System and Portland State amended academic policy to accept up to 12 vocational/technical credits as general elective transfer credit. For details, refer to the Oregon University System Transfer Guidelines for technical/vocational credits (p.3).
Records Security
The Office of Admissions and Records works collaboratively with other university departments to ensure that student records are protected and maintained appropriately. The University provides for the security of student records of admission and progress, and maintains private, accurate, complete, and permanent student records, including transcripts, in accordance with provisions outlined in Oregon Administrative Rules, Division 30: Student Records. Portland State information-release policy respects the right of individual privacy and ensures the confidentiality of records and files as required by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The Banner Student Information System coordinator (employed in Admissions and Records) ensures controlled access to computerized student records. Individual staff members are granted access to Banner on a job-related, need-to-know basis, as requested and approved by their department head or director.
In 2004, Portland State began assignment of randomly generated student identification numbers to all enrolled and new students. This has improved record security in the Student Information System. Students and the public are informed of policies related to privacy and security of records during New Student Orientation programs, and in the quarterly Portland State Schedule of Classes. Staff members are informed on the job, partly through training added by Human Resources to familiarize new hires with FERPA provisions.
Student records are retained and destroyed on a schedule defined by the Oregon University System's General Records Retention Schedule. Data and records maintained in computing systems have adequate security and provision for recovery in the event of disaster.
The Portland State Information Security Policy, developed by the Office of Information Technologies, guides managers and others with standards and procedures to protect Portland State information systems. The policy provides definitions for data classification and information ownership, assigns responsibility for various aspects of information security at Portland State, and outlines the process for requesting an exception to the policy. Data recovery plans and provision for data backups are outlined in another OIT document, Disaster Recovery for CNS.
Admissions and Records personnel face challenges in implementing information technology to provide needed services. Insufficient staff resources have hampered the unit's ability to fully implement needed improvements and to support services currently on line. Despite these limitations, a number of technological innovations are underway. A plan for improving student registration for nondegree, noncredit and continuing-education courses by merging Extended Studies' student information and records system into the University's Student Information System (Banner) is in its early stages. This merger will allow new registration features, make noncredit transcripts available to students through the existing transcript system, and result in more transparent services for students.
Another challenge is related to pre-1987 student records, which exist only in hard copy. These records are protected in fire-resistant, locked storage, but duplicate records do not exist. Portland State has plans to implement an imaging solution to archive these records. Further plans include use of imaging and workflow technology to support archiving needs, ameliorate the lack of space in the records vault, and reduce reliance on hard copy records. Given sufficient resources, the unit would begin implementing a full data-mapping solution for an Electronic Data Interchange software that will provide electronic transcript data to the DARS-Banner system to expedite admission and evaluation of transfer credit.
Back To Top
Click the below links to access sub-sections.
Printer Friendly Format
