Academic Excellence Award

Sept. 27, 2010

MTSU GRADUATE PROGRAM, ACCLAIMED AS 'NATIONAL MODEL,' RECEIVES ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD

MURFREESBORO—The Tennessee Board of Regents presented Middle Tennessee State University with the Academic Excellence Award during the body's fall meeting, honoring MTSU's highly touted and successful Master's of Science in Professional Science degree program.

Dr. Paula Myrick Short, TBR vice chancellor for academic affairs, along with Chancellor Charles Manning and TBR board members Greg Duckett and J. Stanley Rogers, presented the award to MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and Dr. Saeed Foroudastan, associate dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences and director of the MSPS program.

Jim Monsor, MSPS advisory board member and senior vice president of operations at BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc., in Franklin, Tenn., also was recognized for the company's partnership role in the program.

National recognition

Established in 2005 with support from the Sloan Foundation and approved by the TBR, the MSPS degree currently is the only interdisciplinary program of its kind in Tennessee and has been acclaimed as a model program by the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C.

The MSPS program also received the highest scores in all categories during a recent five-year program review by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

"MTSU's MSPS program is a signature professional science master's program at a national level and serves as a model to other programs,"; an outside reviewer said.

In 2005-06, one MSPS degree was conferred at MTSU; in 2009-10, there were 20.

Workforce development for the state

The degree combines 15 hours of business-management training with 21 hours of courses in the fields of biotechnology, biostatistics or health care informatics. Instead of completing a thesis, each student must complete a 250-hour internship and make a presentation at the conclusion of the semester. According to university records, 60 to 70 percent of MSPS students have been hired to work at the companies where they completed their internships.

The program's popularity is due in part to its success in producing well-qualified professionals in science and technology who enhance the workforce and economic growth of Tennessee. Officials say that nearly all MSPS graduates have found employment within their fields of study.

About the award

The TBR approved its Academic Excellence Award in 1999. TBR schools submit programs, along with a description, for consideration for the award. TBR staff members then judge each program on its impact on student learning, advancement of the discipline, and benefit to the community, state and nation. The reputation of the faculty in that particular area, student achievement and external support also are considered in the evaluation process; other factors include the program's benefit to society and its impact on the institution's reputation.

The people behind its success

In addition to Foroudastan and Monsor, MTSU MSPS program coordinators are Dr. Rebecca Seipelt, associate professor of biology (biotechnology); Dr. Pamela Taylor, associate professor of nursing (health care informatics); Dr. Lisa Green, associate professor, mathematical sciences (biostatistics); and Dr. Linda McGrew, professor of business communication and entrepreneurship (business).

For more information on the MSPS degree, visit www.mtsu.edu/~msps.