Purpose:
The development of a preliminary program profile (PPP) has two main purposes: 1) to familiarize the selector with the department in question and 2) to form a foundation upon which the selector can make preliminary judgements regarding the current and anticipated research and instructional programs within the department.
What is a Preliminary Program Profile?
The PPP is a research project undertaken by a selector which results in a relatively short narrative describing a department's academic program. It is based on information gleaned from published and public record sources. It is the selector's first attempt to analyze an administrative unit-the department-in order to determine the various research and instructional endeavors which constitute the department's academic program.
The academic department, in essence, coordinates the activity of a group of specialists-the faculty-who teach students at various levels and who undertake specific research which creates new knowledge. Perhaps the most difficult task the selector faces in the creation of a PPP involves determining the various research and instructional "programs" developed within the departmental structure.
A "degree program" does not necessarily equal the academic program. This is especially true in the social sciences and the humanities. For example, while the University offers only one PhD in History through the College of Arts and Sciences, the graduate student in the Department of History could be involved in a variety of research specializations: History of Science, American History, British History, Latin American History, African History, European History, Military History, Florida History, Constitutional History, and so forth. These specializations, tracks, subprograms, emphases-each department has come up with several words describing these various research possibilities-are important for the selector, because it is only at this "program" level that the selector can link resource needs to particular bibliographic universes.
It is important to define academic programs which are essentially "applied" programs as opposed to "research" programs, because the "applied" program, which concentrates on producing competent professionals, is not necessarily involved in the development of new knowledge and, therefore, relies on a relatively narrow bibliographic universe. Usually, a program which terminates in a Bachelors or Masters degree is an applied program. Under this circumstance it is essential for the selector to know whether the faculty within a department are planning to offer the PhD degree. Two years ago the College of Journalism and Communications began to offer a PhD in Communications, with tracks or specializations available in each of the areas heretofore terminating in a Masters degree. This was an obvious signal that the College was moving away from an "applied" program toward a "research" program. Recently, the College of Health and Human Performance was given permission to offer a PhD in Exercise; the College of Fine Arts plans to offer a new PhD in Music; the College of Architecture plans to offer a PhD, and the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages is developing a new PhD program in German. Each of these movements has a tremendous effect on the Library, of course, because the resources and services required by specialist and graduate students to create new knowledge are significantly different and deeper than the resources and services required to produce an "applied" degree. Core collections must be expanded into research collections.
The PPP, therefore, is a snapshot of an evolving academic program within a department. The department's academic program can only be described as an aggregate of the various research and instructional emphases currently involving the faculty and, especially, the graduate students. Since it is impossible for the Library to own everything, the selector-in collaboration with the faculty-has to establish priorities. What are the most important programs? Where does the department's research and instructional emphasis lie? Are various groups of faculty involved in research in a particular area of specialization, and does this specialization constitute a particularly important part of the department's work? Has an eminent scholar, with a well known specialization, recently been hired and is this scholar attracting a group of graduate students? While a particular professor, as an individual, may be deeply interested in Spanish vinery, s/he teaches students, directs dissertations, and publishes research dealing with the urbanization of Amazon Basin. The "program," therefore, is the Amazon and not, unfortunately, Spanish vinery. Resource sharing may be the only alternative for individual research avocations.
The PPP emphasizes preliminary judgements on the part of the selector. It is a first attempt to analyze the parts; it is a first attempt to describe what the department is about. PPP judgements are important, even if they are wrong, because judgements will usually stir discussion and an attempt on the part of the faculty member to describe what is "real." The PPP is designed to get the selector involved in the department to the extent the s/he can begin to understand the various departmental academic programs and, later, discuss these programs with the faculty. It is the first step toward the creation of an accurate departmental program profile, one upon which the selector can create selection guidelines with confidence.
What Kinds of Information are Available for Developing the PPP?
Information about a University department can be found in an almost unlimited number of sources. One of the first judgements the selector has to make is how to limit the research to a practical and efficient scope. What follows are suggestions rather than an exhaustive list of possible sources of information.
The University Record and the Graduate Catalog are the best source for current information about faculty, degrees, and courses offered, as well as indicating the various tracks, specializations, and academic emphasis in the department.
The Majors Report will provide specific statistical information concerning the number of students majoring in the college, but the report does not break the majors into departments within the college. For several colleges-Education, Agriculture, Business, and Journalism-the Majors Report probably provides the best preliminary information about the various programmatic concentrations, but the report is useless in determining the programmatic breakdown in the various departments within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The BOR list of approved degree programs will provide current information but will be silent regarding degree programs in the planning stage. The minutes for the BOR Meetings, which are on file in the Library Office, provide the best information concerning degree programs in the planning stage and the regular program reviews undertaken by out of state peers.
Most departments have published at least a flyer concerning their programs. In the sciences these flyers can be quite elaborate and contain excellent details concerning the faculty's research. Indeed, the EIES annual report practically constitutes a PPP in itself. Unfortunately, departmental publications in the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts are irregular, often dated, and contain little information. Inquire at the department office for current publications.
Recent faculty publications give solid information concerning the subject interests and programmatic emphasis of the department. Once the selector has gathered the names of the current faculty, s/he can search LUIS, OCLC, RLIN or the various indexes or citation tools to locate publication titles and subject interests. The Library maintains a list of dissertations completed by the graduate students. Investigating the topics covered in these dissertations often will indicate the relative strength of the various departmental programs.
Sponsored Research files are public record, once a grant is awarded. You can search the files under the faculty names to determine if any one of them has received a grant. Sponsored research is a good indication of faculty research interest. The Library Office can provide access to the "Dean's Menu," which is maintained on the University's mainframe. The sponsored research file is online and selectors can search the file by faculty name to locate grant titles applied for and received.
The University Archives will possibly hold historical information regarding a department. Role and Scope reports, especially the 1972 report, are available in the Archives. The Alligator Index maintained by Humanities and Social Science Reference and the University Archives may provide access to information.
In many cases the department office will have excellent information which can be shared. If the selector can gain the trust of the department chair, s/he may find complete curriculum vitae and recent self studies will be made available, as well as other statistical information developed specifically for the department. Ask for help.
One of the most difficult PPP tasks involves the association of the Centers, Institutes, and Bureaus to various departments. Except the Center for Latin American Studies, every center is primarily associated with a specific department. The UF Campus phone book lists the Centers and, quite often, the name of the center director will appear in the faculty/staff listing with a specific departmental affiliation. For instance-this is taken from a 1981 campus telephone book-Professor Lawrence Malvern is listed as the Director of the Center for Dynamic Plasticity, and in the faculty listing Professor Malvern is listed as a member of the Department of Engineering Sciences. Since Centers are established to obtain research support and to make interdisciplinary research possible, they are an important PPP consideration.
A Sample Outline: