B.S. in Health Sciences School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders Northern Illinois University PROGRAM ASSESSMENT PLAN 2013

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1 Health Sciences (B.S.) B.S. in Health Sciences School of ied Health and Communicative Disorders Northern Illinois University PROGRAM ASSESSMENT PLAN 2013 The Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences program is designed to prepare students to enter allied health and other health-related fields. The health sciences program focuses on providing the student with a strong foundation through general education courses and a science-based curriculum. Students in the major have the choice of two emphases: pre-physical therapy and rehabilitation services. Students choosing the pre-physical therapy emphasis are typically interested in pursing careers in health-related fields that require a graduate degree for practice. The required course work provides the foundation needed to enter health-related professional programs, specifically the Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT). Students in the rehabilitation services emphasis are usually preparing as paraprofessionals or professionals providing human/social services to persons with disabilities. The required courses provide a basic background in disability and rehabilitation concepts, psychological principles, and research methods. Paraprofessional positions (e.g., job coach, rehabilitation aids) can be obtained by students with the baccalaureate degree. Students desiring professional positions must obtain a master s degree. The undergraduate curriculum is preparatory to graduate study which meets the course requirements of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counseling Certification. The learning outcomes for the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences reflect the knowledge base and behaviors that a student must acquire in order to enter the health fields as a paraprofessional and/or begin graduate training. The major provides students with a foundation of basic information about normal development, medical terminology, anatomy, counseling skills, psychosocial aspects of disability, statistics, and research design. Learning Objectives: Graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences program will be prepared for successful professional careers and/or graduate study by: 1. communicating effectively orally and in writing including an awareness of audience (e.g., reading levels, comprehension) and use of person-first language. 2. working collaboratively with peers and faculty. 3. demonstrating knowledge, understanding, and sensitivity regarding diverse groups, cultures, and individuals, particularly related to issues surrounding disability and health care. 1

2 4. applying critical thinking skills to case studies, journal articles, and other media related to health care and disability. 5. knowing when there is a need for information and demonstrating the information literacy skills necessary to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively and responsibly use that information for problem solving related to health professions and disability issues. 6. demonstrating discipline specific knowledge about healthcare, rehabilitation, and disability. 7. applying quantitative reasoning skills as they relate to healthcare and disability issues at both the systemic and personal levels. Explanation of Methods Physical Therapy faculty members teach one course at the undergraduate level. The remaining courses within the school are taught by Rehabilitation Counseling faculty. As such, the methods identified and described in the following table are implemented largely by Rehabilitation Counseling faculty. For yearly reporting purposes, however, data will be analyzed and reported by emphasis area (i.e., pre-physical therapy, rehabilitation services). Method Description Timeline Person Responsible Course level Direct Embedded assessment in quizzes, exams, assignments, and class projects. (Note: Student learning objectives are mapped to specific courses in the curriculum.) Faculty members submit a yearly assessment report with their Faculty Service Report. The assessment report reflects a summary of their students courselevel learning attainment. Embedded assessment is emphasized with data available from quizzes, exams, activities, and assignments Annual report submitted with Faculty Service Report Individual faculty Objectives Addressed Program Indirect Faculty survey Faculty complete a survey designed to assess their perceptions of the program, attainment of student learning goals, and related programmatic Every two years in the spring committee 2

3 issues. Method Description Timeline Person Responsible Objectives Addressed Yearly student survey Students complete an online survey designed to assess their perceptions of the program, attainment of student learning goals, and related programmatic issues. Every spring committee External Indirect Employer and Advisory Committee Employers and other professionals in the region will provide feedback regarding how well the program prepared graduates and meets changing professional needs. They will also make suggestions for curricular improvements. Every fall semester Area coordinator of alumni The program maintains contact with alumni via alumni newsletters and social media (e.g., LinkedIn). Alumni will be asked to provide feedback via an online survey regarding how well the program prepared them for employment and/or graduate school. They will also be asked to make suggestions for curricular improvements. Every fall semester Area coordinator Similar questions will be added the College s annual alumni survey. 3

4 Outcomes by Methods Embedded Faculty Student Employer/Advisory Board Review Alumni Communication Collaboration Diversity Critical thinking Information literacy Discipline specific knowledge Quantitative reasoning Status Report B. S. in Health Sciences Available Data The Annual Update for the B.S. in Health Sciences emphasized students attainment of written communication skills. Data were obtained via embedded assessment in AHRS 200 (Disability in Society) and an online survey. Please note that the data subsequently reported are not separated by emphasis area (i.e., pre-pt, Rehabilitation Services). Reporting by area will begin in the annual report. undergraduates pursing the B.S. in Health Sciences take AHRS 200 (Disability in Society). Students are pre-tested at the beginning of each semester on their ability to use non-biased language (i.e., person-first language) when writing about disability. is embedded in the midterm and final exam as well as the end-of-semester reflection paper. During the spring 2012 pretest, 26% of the students correctly answered the pretest questions about person-first language. On the midterm and final exams respectively, 78% and 82% earned full credit on the embedded questions. In addition, 92% of the reflection papers included no more than one misuse of person-first language guideline. An 18-item online survey was created based on AHCD undergraduate learning goals. Items included 15 Likert-scale questions and one short-answer question. The survey was administered anonymously via Zoomerang. There are 616 majors in the Health Sciences program (132 in Rehabilitation Services, 484 in Pre-PT). responses were received from 51 students (overall response rate = 8%). In the Rehabilitation Services emphasis, 4

5 7/10 students reported being satisfied with opportunities to learn written communication skills and 9/10 indicated satisfaction with the development of their written communication skills. In the Pre-PT emphasis, 26/40 (65%) reported being satisfied with opportunities to learn written communication skills and 32/41 (78%) indicated satisfaction with their own written communication skills. Use of Results Data regarding use of person-first language skills were shared with program and school faculty. Direct evidence from AHRS 200 indicated that students need additional work to develop this skill when asked to write spontaneously (i.e., exams). When given more opportunity for review and revision, as evidenced by their reflection papers, the students achieved expected outcomes. To improve spontaneous use, additional practice questions and quiz questions were added to the fall 2012 course. In addition, during the spring 2012 semester, a portion of one faculty meeting was devoted to providing colleagues with resources and information regarding the use and incorporation of person-first concepts into their classes. Due to the low response rate (i.e., 8%), the online survey did not provide much guidance. There are no immediate plans to change curriculum. Greater effort will, however, be spent to increase students participation to obtain a larger and more representative sample. Gaps in Current Data No gaps in the data have been identified at this time. Timeline for Collecting Additional Data We are not proposing collecting additional data at this time. Resources Needed No resources are requested at this time, but additional resources may be requested when the assessment status report is submitted in