Recognition program

The PULSE Recognition Program is designed to assist departments to implement change in accordance with the recommendations of Vision and Change. Participation in the Recognition Program is a multi-step process involving self-assessment, reviewing departmental data and receiving feedback. The Recognition Program is not an accreditation process. Instead, the Program is designed to be a facilitated self-assessment process, serving as a motivator for continuous departmental improvement to increase student success.

The PULSE Recognition review process

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GATHERING DEPARTMENTAL DATA

Departments gather data and complete the PULSE Rubrics in areas of Curriculum, Assessment, Faculty Practice/Faculty Support, Infrastructure, Climate for Change, and Building Community & Collaboration. Consensus rubric scores and requested materials are then reviewed by the PULSE Recognition Site Visit Team in preparation for the campus visit.

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Site visit

The Recognition Site Visit comes next. A team of two PULSE Fellows will come to your campus to tour facilities, meet with various departmental faculty staff as well as key campus stakeholders.

The department will receive a detailed report four to six weeks after the site visit, organized to align with the PULSE Rubrics, on the department’s strengths, opportunities for improvement and recommendations.

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PULSE Progression Level

The final step in the PULSE Recognition Program is the assignment of a PULSE Progression Level. Modeled after LEED Certification for green construction, the PULSE Progression Level represents a department’s achievements in successfully implementing changes to promote greater student success in life sciences education.

PULSE Progression Levels

“…[The] Recognition process provided our department with important opportunities to reflect on our individual and collective pedagogical goals, consider our curriculum, assess our outcomes, chart our progress, and gain new perspectives.”

-Participating Institution

“…[The Recognition Program] has helped us identify areas where we can improve to meet the call of Vision and Change which has helped us leverage resources on our campus to do so.”

Participating Institution

“Being part of the pilot program provided us an opportunity to gauge our progress thus far; learn more about how to implement more suitable assessment of our students’ abilities and provide all of our faculty with tools and information for better engagement of students in the classroom.”

– Participating institution.

What makes the PULSE Recognition Program different from similar workshops/programs?

The Recognition Program is not an accreditation process. Instead, the Program is designed to be a facilitated self-assessment process, serving as a motivator for continuous departmental improvement to increase student success. Grounded in the PULSE Rubrics, departments use the 77 criteria to evaluate their integration of best practices in institutional reform in undergraduate education. PULSE is one of the few organizations that offers this type of departmental support and recognition.

Who do I contact for more information about scheduling and pricing?

Complete the Expression of Interest form or contact Dr. Loretta Brancaccio-Taras:

The PULSE Recognition Program is currently supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) IUSE-EHR award 2012213.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations contained within pulserecognition.org are those of the invesigators and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.