2006 Self-Study Report

Prepared for
The Council on Education for Public Health

The University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health (UIC SPH) is one of six health science schools in this leading public university.  The university is recognized for its research strength, educational excellence and commitment to improve the quality of metropolitan life.  The City of Chicago provides a dynamic and diverse urban environment in which faculty, students, and staff members pursue the school’s mission.  As an urban commercial hub and transportation center in the American Midwest, the Chicago location gives the UIC SPH exposure and reach to nearly every aspect of public health−locally, statewide, nationally and internationally.  The UIC Great Cities Initiative affords the school close involvement and expertise with public health issues facing inner-city populations, while the Rockford and Peoria regional programs allow the school to address rural public health concerns.

Situated in one of world’s largest concentrations of advanced public and private health care facilities, UIC SPH is housed in two campus buildings which provide modern, well-equipped teaching, research, conference and study facilities for faculty, students, staff and community groups.  A third near-campus site houses the Institute for Health Research and Policy.

Established in 1970, the fully accredited UIC SPH currently offers five degrees: Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science (MS), Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA), Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), along with certificate programs and nondegree continuing education opportunities to over 700 full and part-time students and professionals practicing in the field.

The school is particularly recognized for its programs in community health, maternal and child health, occupational and environment health, epidemiology and biostatistics, public health practice and leadership, prevention research in HIV/AIDS, violence, substance abuse and tobacco control, healthy aging, and emergency response preparedness.

We have an exceptionally strong community focus.  Faculty and students partner with communities throughout the Chicago area in multiple programs and projects (Criterion VI describes our project map database which highlights local, regional, national and international work).  The school has long standing relationships with many diverse communities.  The work with communities ranges from intervention research to participatory research to service provision.  One of the hallmarks of the school’s community involvement is the strong partnerships which exist between students, faculty, staff at the school, and community members.

Other programmatic strengths of the school stem from and include this community orientation.  Two of these in particular are national and international models of the community outreach worker approach, and are frequently visited by policy makers and researchers wanting to replicate these approaches.  These two programs are the violence prevention program “CeaseFire” and COIP, the Community Outreach and Intervention Program, which focuses on drug abuse prevention and treatment and HIV/AIDS prevention.  Both programs have demonstrated dramatic decreases in the risk behaviors they are working to prevent.  Ceasefire is mentioned in one or both of the major Chicago papers almost every week.

Occupational health is another area of strength for the school.  Building on the industrial activities in the heartland of America, the school partners with labor unions, business and agricultural owners and managers and others to address occupational health issues.  The occupational medicine residency at UIC is housed within the SPH, and the SPH runs the university employees occupational health center, as well as a travel clinic and a clinic for artists.  The latter has given rise to the Health and Arts program, which does occupational health training, research and clinical support for artists across the arts, ranging from dancers to painters to sculptors.  Illinois provides also a context for work on rural health issues, which is further facilitated by the satellite program on the Rockford campus and the rural health EXPORT center located there.

Maternal and child health is a strength that has been evident in the SPH for over 25 years.  Through collaborative research activities, field-based learning in courses and field practica, MCH faculty and students work closely with state and local health agencies, welfare and education agencies, not-for-profit advocacy organizations and community-based health and social service organizations to improve the health and well-being of women, children and families, particularly in Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Regions V and VII.  The MCH program at UIC SPH is one of twelve MCH programs at schools of public health in the United States that are currently funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Our strength in intervention and translational research is best illustrated by the work done at the Institute for Health Research and Policy (IHRP) and by the recent K30 award to develop clinical research across and with the other health sciences schools.  The IHRP houses a CDC funded prevention research center (PRC) and a flagship program in the Roybal Center, wherein our Center for Research on Health and Aging does intervention research to promote exercise and other aspects of healthy lifestyles for the older population.  The K30 Clinical Research Training Program funds a new MS in Clinical Research that will admit its first class of students in fall 2006.

The UIC SPH has these and many other programmatic strengths to attract students, faculty and staff who are committed to public health.  As the self-study document that follows illustrates, we strive to offer a solid education in the five core areas of public health.  We do this through our instructional, research and service activities highlighted below.

The following files require the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Table of Contents

Download the 2006 Self-Study Report (contains all the following criterions):
Response to CEPH Site Visit

CRITERION I - MISSION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

1. Mission Statement
2. Goals and Objectives
3. Instructional Goals
4. Development and Monitoring of Mission, Goals and Objectives
5. Assessment

CRITERION II.A - ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING – EXTERNAL

1. University Setting
2. Organizational Chart
3. The School of Public Health Within the UIC’s system of Governance
4. Assessment

CRITERION II.B – ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING – INTERNAL

1. Organizational Chart of the School
2. Description of the Organizational Relationships
3. Support of Interdisciplinary Coordination, Cooperation and Collaboration
4. Public Health Values and Ethics
5. Written Policies Assuring Fair and Ethical Standards
6. Assessment

CRITERION III – GOVERNANCE

1. Administrative, Governance, and Committee Structure and Processes
2. Standing and Ad Hoc Faculty Committees-Charges and Composition
3. School and University Committees
4. Assessment

CRITERION IV - RESOURCES

1. Budget
2. Faculty
3. Other Personnel
4. Space
5. Laboratories
6. Computer Facilities and Resources
7. Library/Information Resources
8. Field Experience Sites
9. Community Resources Available for Instruction, Research and Service
10. Outcome Measures
11. Assessment

CRITERION V.A – DEGREE PROGRAMS

1. Degree Programs
2. Curricula
3. Assessment

CRITERION V.B – PROFESSIONAL DEGREE PROGRAMS

1. Broad Understanding of Public Health
2. Practice Policy and Procedures
3. Formal Practice Placements
4. Culminating Experience
5. Assessment

CRITERION V.C – LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Learning Objectives
2. Development, Distribution and Use of Learning Objectives
3. Assessment of Changing Needs of PHP
4. Assessment

CRITERION V.D – ASSESSMENT AND DOCUMENTATION

1. Procedures for Monitoring and Evaluating Student Progress
2. Documentation of Students’ Achievements-Outcome Measures
3. Degree Completion and Job Placement Rates
4. Assessment

CRITERION V.E – ACADEMIC DEGREES

1. Identification of Academic Degree Programs
2. Public Health Orientation
3. Culminating Experience
4. Assessment

CRITERION V.F – DOCTORAL DEGREES

1. Identification of Doctoral Programs
2. Assessment

CRITERION V.G – JOINT DEGREE PROGRAMS

1. Joint Degree Programs
2. Assessment

CRITERION V.H – NONTRADITIONAL DEGREE PROGRAM

1. Identification of Nontraditional Programs
2. Description of Nontraditional Degree Programs
3. Assessment

CRITERION VI - RESEARCH

1. Research Policies, Procedures and Practices
2. Community-Based Research Activities
3. Current Research Activity
4. Measures of Research Activity
5. Student Involvement in Research
6. Assessment

CRITERION VII – SERVICE

1. School of Public Health Service Policy
2. Current Service Activities
3. Continuing Education: Policies, Procedures and Practices
4. A List of Continuing Education Activities
5. Collaborations for Continuing Education
6. Measures of Service
7. Student Involvement in Service
8. Assessment

CRITERION VIII.A – FACULTY: DEFINITIONS AND COMPETENCE

1. Faculty Support for Degree Programs
2. Integration of Public Health Practice Perspectives
3. Outcome Measures
4. Assessment

CRITERION VIII.B – FACULTY: RECRUITMENT AND EVALUATION

1. Faculty Handbook for the School of Public Health
2. Faculty Development
3. Evaluation of Faculty Competence and Performance
4. Student Evaluation of Teaching and Advising
5. Community Service in Promotion and Tenure
6. Assessment

CRITERION VIII.C – FACULTY: DIVERSITY

1. Demographic Data
2. Equitable Opportunities
3. Outcome Measures
4. Assessment

CRITERION IX.A – STUDENT RECRUITMENT AND ADMISSIONS

1. Recruitment Policies and Procedures
2. Student Admission Requirements and Procedures
3. Recruitment Materials
4. Quantitative Information on Applicants
5. Enrollment by Degree Program
6. Outcome Measures
7. Assessment

CRITERION IX.B – STUDENT DIVERSITY

1. Policies and Programs Designed to Achieve a Diverse Student Body
2. Student Demographic Characteristics
3. Outcome Measures
4. Assessment

CRITERION IX.C – STUDENT ADVISING AND COUNSELING

1. Advising and Counseling Services
2. Student Satisfaction With Services
3. Assessment

CRITERION IX.D – STUDENT PARTICIPATORY ROLES

1. Student Roles in Program Evaluation
2. Student Roles in School Governance
3. Assessment

CRITERION X.A – EVALUATION AND PLANNING

1. Evaluation and Planning Process
2. Identification of Measures
3. Assessment

CRITERION X.B – SELF-STUDY PROCESS

1. Documentation
2. Self-Study Process
3. Responses to Last Accreditation Report
4. Summary Statement
5. Assessment

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