Nancy Kane and Nancy Turnbull, Associate Deans for Educational Programs, have announced an 18-month strategic plan for the newly established Office for Educational Programs (OEP). The overall goal of the office is to develop a coherent curriculum for each program at HSPH that will prepare students for leadership positions in public health practice and research. The Office for Educational Programs will also assume some of the responsibilities historically managed by Academic Affairs, which will be renamed the Office of Faculty Affairs. (See box at the bottom.)
Kane, professor of management, and Turnbull, senior lecturer on health policy, were appointed associate deans effective January 1, 2007. The positions expand on the role of what was then called the Office for Professional Education, formerly headed by Richard Monson, who has stepped down as associate dean.
Said James Ware, Dean for Academic Affairs, when announcing the new appointments, "I could not be more enthusiastic about the leadership that Nancy Kane and Nancy Turnbull will provide in the next era of the School's educational programming. They are proven innovators and leaders in public health education with stellar records in teaching and mentoring. I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Richard Monson for his dedicated leadership of the Office for Professional Education and the MPH program these past eight years."
The Office for Educational Programs includes Roberta Gianfortoni, Assistant Dean for Professional Education; Michelle Bell, Director of Evaluation and Accreditation; and staff members Erin Beasley, Meg Fuchs, Nancy Perna, and Tina Rizzuto.
"So what is our mission at this point?" asked Kane at a recent faculty meeting, where the new deans described their initial areas of focus. "How will we ensure that the Harvard School of Public Health is a great place to learn for all students? The goals include creating a cohesive, integrated public health curriculum, developing leadership skills for public health practice and research, ensuring effective advising and mentoring of students, improving the quality of teaching where it is uneven and rewarding it where it is great."
OFFICE FOR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS STRATEGY
In the next year and a half, the Office for Educational Programs will continue to consult with groups of faculty, alumni, students, and employers to define the skills and knowledge today's public health leaders need through focus groups, surveys, and advisory groups. These discussions will help identify and prioritize short-term and long-term goals, said Kane and Turnbull.
The Office for Educational Programs must collaborate with many people across the School in Faculty Affairs, Student Services, Development, academic departments, and numerous committees. An Education Steering Committee composed of the heads of the MPH Steering Committee, the Committee on Educational Policy, the Division of Biological Sciences, and Student Services advises the OEP on strategic priorities. The new group, which includes Kane and Turnbull, represents a variety of different disciplines and areas in the School. Dean Ware chairs the committee.
ALTERNATIVE CORE CURRICULUM FOR PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS
All schools of public health must expose their professional students to the core public health disciplines: biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health and social behavior, and health services administration. How they achieve that exposure varies widely among schools. At HSPH, the exposure has traditionally been accomplished by requiring students to take separate courses on the basic concepts of each discipline. That approach, while still relevant, does not directly address the problems that public health practitioners must solve every day, said Kane and Turnbull. The approach also is a relatively inefficient and at times redundant way for professional students to learn the skills they need, according to Kane and Turnbull.
The OEP is developing a curriculum meant to be an alternative - not replacement - curriculum that offers an integrated, problem-based approach to teaching the core public health disciplines. The alternative curriculum will rely more heavily on case-based discussion and problem-solving and will permit integration of the core disciplines. Kane used the example of preventing childhood obesity - how could biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, social behavior, and health policy come together to define the problem of overweight children, identify contributing factors, design effective interventions, and evaluate the results of the interventions?
A Core Curriculum Steering Committee, which includes faculty members from each core discipline, is identifying the target competencies to be mastered in each discipline, so that they can be incorporated as learning objectives for each case. The committee will ensure that the alternative core curriculum complies with the accreditation requirements of the Council on Education for Public Health and that the approach teaches students relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to become effective leaders in public health.
Active learning exercises are planned for Fall 2007 Orientation, and one case study will be piloted in WinterSession 2008. The full alternative core curriculum is projected for Fall 2008 classes.
TEACHING AN ACTIVE-LEARNING APPROACH
Not all faculty have training or experience in active learning methods, such as case-based discussion. OEP has requested increased resources to support faculty who wish to make the transition into more active instruction methods and case-based curriculum planning. The Office is looking into how other schools evaluate their active-learning courses and how faculty within those schools are rewarded for the extra effort they put into active learning techniques and case-based curriculum development.
ACADEMIC ADVISING
The goal of good academic advising is to provide knowledgeable guidance for all students about academic programs and courses, said Turnbull, who added that excellent advising should be better recognized and rewarded.
The Office for Educational Programs has several activities to improve academic advising underway. A Committee on Educational Policy survey has inventoried department and program advising "best practices." The results will be further developed and disseminated to all departments. OEP plans to survey faculty members to identify resources and supports that are needed to improve academic advising. The administrative advisors in every department will be convened regularly to discuss advising issues and share best practices. Finally, OEP plans to develop a regular student survey identifying which faculty members do a particularly good job of advising and which need additional training and support.
"A written set of clear guidelines on the expectations and responsibilities for advisers and advisees is required," said Turnbull.
Michelle Bell in OEP is also developing a web-based "Degree Planner" to aid students in making course choices and tracking their academic progress.
STUDENT MENTORING/CAREER GUIDANCE
Historically, HSPH has done better in guiding doctoral students into academic careers than in advising master's or doctoral students on non-academic professions, most likely because faculty advisors are themselves academicians, noted Turnbull. One resource to help improve career mentoring is the pool of HSPH alumni working in public health practice, who can be tapped by students for advice. The Career Services Office is piloting a program of alumni who are serving as "career coaches" for students. If successful, the program will be expanded, said Kane and Turnbull. The University has also created a web-based program that allows alumni to self-identify as willing to serve as career mentors to current Harvard students. Already more than 400 HSPH alumni have signed on to the "Harvard Compass" program, and recruitment of more mentors is expected during the coming year.
STUDENT PRACTICE
An important area of learning for all students is practice in public health organizations in the community. Turnbull credited Howard Koh, head of the School's Division of Public Health Practice, with advancing the focus on practice at HSPH.
Among the priorities for the Office for Educational Programs is ensuring that required student practice experiences are meaningful, relevant, and rigorous. So far, OEP has analyzed the practice requirements of each program and benchmarked them to requirements at other schools of public health. OEP expects to formalize existing relationships with organizations that have supported the practica experiences of HSPH students and to build new relationships where student needs can be best met, particularly those meeting the practice needs of international students. The office plans to establish a Practice Advisory Group of alumni, employers, students, and faculty to help guide and support its activities in this area.
REACCREDITATION
HSPH is preparing for reaccreditation through the Council on Education for Public Health. At the Council's request, the School's current term of accreditation has been extended for one year, and the reaccreditation site visit will now take place in 2009. Michelle Bell in OEP is preparing materials for the visit, and, noted Turnbull, the office's new initiatives will be in place by that time.
New Name for Academic Affairs Better Describes Duties
With the expansion of the Office for Educational Programs, Academic Affairs will change its name to the Office of Faculty Affairs to more accurately reflect the functions of the group, effective July 1.
"The change will help us narrow and deepen our focus to ensure that we are doing all that we can to support faculty and other academic appointees," said Associate Dean Bernita Anderson, whose title will change to reflect the new name of the office.
The Office of Faculty Affairs will continue to oversee faculty searches and reviews as well as other aspects of the appointment, reappointment, and promotion of faculty and nonfaculty academic appointees, such as research scientists, research associates, and postdoctoral research fellows. The Office, which has conducted a year-long orientation program for new junior faculty for several years, will develop an expanded program of professional development activities for junior faculty and research fellows. For more information, call the Office at 617-432-1047.
Copyright, 2007, President and Fellows of Harvard College
