ANNUAL PROGRAM PLANNING WORKSHEET (APPW)

Transcription

1 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLANNING WORKSHEET (APPW) Program: Psychology Planning Year: Last Year CPPR Completed: 2013 Unit: Social Science Cluster: A. H. & S.S. Next Scheduled CPPR: 2018 NARRATIVE: APPW Use the following narrative outline and be brief and concise: I. Program Support of District Mission, Institutional Goals, Institutional Objectives, and/or Institutional Learning Outcomes: Identify how your program, within the past year, has helped the District achieve its Institutional Goals and Objectives, and/or how it has helped students achieve specific Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs), and provide data or evidence that demonstrates the progress. The Psychology program helps the District achieve all six of its Institutional Learning Outcomes. Listed below are ILOs linked with Psychology Program Outcomes (PPLOs). ILO 1. Personal, Academic, and Professional Development (PPLO 3) ILO 2. Critical Thinking and Communication (PPLO 2) ILO 3. Scientific and Environmental Understanding (PPLOs 1 & 2) ILO 4. Social, Historical, and Global Knowledge and Engagement (PPLOs 1& 4) ILO 5. Artistic and Cultural Knowledge and Engagement (PPLOs 1 & 4) ILO 6. Technical and Informational Fluency (PPLO 2) The Cuesta College Psychology program is strongly aligned with the College Mission, Institutional Goals and Objectives, and Institutional Learning Outcomes. In particular, the Psychology program learning outcomes (PPLOs) emphasize critical thinking and skeptical inquiry (PPLO 2) which help students achieve the foundational skills discussed in the College Mission and ILOs 2, 3 and 6. Furthermore, the Psychology program emphasizes skills that enable students to achieve self management, self- improvement, and insight (PPLO 3) which aligns with ILO 1 and the College Mission aiming to improve lives by promoting cultural, intellectual, and professional growth. And ILOs 4 and 5 as well as the College Mission to prepare students to become engaged citizens in our increasingly complex communities and world is addressed by the Psychology program s desire to help students tolerate ambiguity, act ethically, as well as recognize, understand, and respect the complexity of sociocultural diversity (PPLO 4). Finally, with personal, academic and professional development being an institutional outcome (ILO 1) at Cuesta, it will be essential that the College support and expand this high student- demand Program at all campuses and acknowledge its growing importance in Educational Master Plans. With the recently approved A.A.- T. in Psychology, the demand for psychology 1 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

2 courses is increasing. In addition to the Psychology A.A. (formerly A.S.) degree, currently more than 118 students have declared the new Psychology A.A.- T. for CSU transfer as their educational goal, making it the second most popular transfer degree on campus (B. Reed, personal communication, Feb. 11, 2015). In addition, the Psychology degrees are among the few AA degree programs that may be fully completed at the North County Campus. Moreover, psychology courses are also required or electives for a number of other majors and are included in three General Education Areas (Life Sciences; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Diversity) with Introductory Psychology having the highest enrollment of any course in the Social and Behavioral Sciences GE Area. Beyond transfer education, psychology also provides important workforce/vocational training as required or recommended coursework for careers in nursing, medicine, human services, law, and business. II. Program Data Analysis and Program- Specific Measurements This should be an update on the data analysis from the last CPPR Program data is available on the SLOCCCD Institutional Research and Assessment Program Review Data Dashboard site. The Dashboard components are hyperlinked below; just click on enrollment or other category below. A. Enrollment (Insert Data Chart) Please embed the data chart and then provide analysis of the factors affecting your program s overall enrollment, paying particular attention to recent changes. Please also comment on your program s data and how it compares to the overall college data. 2 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

3 The enrollment data for Psychology shows a similar trend to what has been seen for the College, with a substantial decrease in followed by a rebound in and then successive declines in and The recent declines have been attributed to a variety of factors - accreditation sanctions, economic recovery, changing county demographics- and since psychology is one of the College s largest transfer majors and sources of GE requirements it could be expected that Program enrollments would parallel College enrollment trends. It should be noted that the enrollment declines of the past two years occurred despite increases in the number of course sections each year, indicating that adding class sections to the schedule does not appear to increase enrollments or attract new students. B. Student Demand (Fill Rate) (Insert Data Chart) Please embed the data chart and then provide analysis of the factors affecting your program s overall fill rate, paying particular attention to recent changes. Please also 3 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

4 comment on your program s data and how it compares to the overall college data. The Fill Rate data for psychology show successive and accelerating decreases each year from to These recent decreases in fill rate have coincided with increases in number of sections with 40 Psychology classes offered in 10-11, 46 classes in 11-12, 48 classes in and 50 classes in Although overall College Fill Rates have declined over the same period, the recent declines for the College are less steep and this no doubt reflects the extensive cuts in class sections that have been imposed on some other programs at the college as the number of Psychology classes was being increased. This indicates that adding sections when there are stable or declining enrollments, especially adding classes at non- prime times of day, only disperses students across the sections without adding significant numbers of new students to the Program. C. Efficiency (FTES/FTEF) (Insert Data Chart) Please embed the data chart and then analyze the factors affecting your program s FTES/FTEF, paying particular attention to recent changes. Please also comment on your program s data related to the overall college data. 4 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

5 Since Program enrollment determines FTES and the number of class sections in the schedule determines FTEF, based on the trends in enrollment, number of course sections and fill rates described above it would be expected that the Efficiency FTES/FTEF trends over the same period would show similar declines as FTES decreased and FTEF increased. The College shows similar efficiency declines as the number of students has continued to decrease while sections have been added to the schedule in an attempt to increase FTES. D. Student Success Course Completion (Insert Data Charts) Please embed the data charts and then provide analysis of the factors affecting your program s overall successful course completion percentage, paying particular attention to recent changes. Consider how modality impacts students success in your program by reviewing Course Completion by Modality. Please also comment on your program s data and how it compares to the overall college data. 5 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

6 In comparison to the academic year, the Psychology program s successful course completion rate improved by 3.3% for the academic year with an almost 70% success rate in the academic year. The College showed a similar upward trend in successful course completion by improving by 1.1% in the academic year. Furthermore, Psychology s success rates are on par with the annual average success rates of other disciplines within the Social Sciences, for example, Philosophy (70%) and History (72%). 6 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

7 The success rate for online Psychology 201 (M = 64%) for the academic year was similar to the success rate for the face- to- face sections of Psyc 201 (M = 67%). The College shows a similar trend in successful course completion by modality with face- to- face courses showing only slightly higher successful completion rates (M = 69.7% for online and M = 74.8% for face- to- face). E. Degrees and Certificates Awarded (Insert Data Chart) Please embed the data chart and then analyze the factors affecting your program s rate of awarding degrees and certificates, paying particular attention to recent changes. Please also comment on your program s data related to the overall college data. 7 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

8 The Psychology Program s degrees awarded showed a similar downward trend for the academic year to what was seen for the College. The recent decline in degrees awarded is most likely attributable to the downward College enrollment trends. Despite these downward trends, Psychology s new AA- T in Psychology is the second most popular (second only to Business) transfer degree students have declared as their educational goal. It is likely, therefore, that in the coming years the Psychology Program will see an increase in degrees awarded. F. Other Relevant Program Data (optional) Please provide any other data you think is relevant to your program such as State or National certification exam results, or other data unique to your program. N/A III. Program Outcomes Assessment and Improvements A. Attach or insert the assessment cycle calendar for your program. The Psychology Program Assessment Cycle Calendar is posted at: G:\Psychology\PSYCSLOA\PsyProgram\PsyProgF14_Program_Assessment_Cycle_Calendar 8 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

9 B. Attach or insert the most recent program- level Course or Program Assessment Summary (CPAS) for each of the degrees/certificates in your program or the Student Services Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Report (SSSLOAR). The most recent Psychology Program CPAS is posted at: G:\Psychology PSYCSLOA\PsyProgram\psyprogS15_CPAS C. Summarize in one to two paragraphs program improvements that have been implemented since the last APPW or CPPR. The assessment plan for the Psychology Program currently has begun using embedded direct assessments for Program and course SLOs. Beginning with the Program and course SLOs focusing on research methods and critical thinking, embedded course assessments (test items, assignments, etc.) have been identified for item analyses of assessment results. This method will be used to assess various SLOs in selected courses by conducting assessment audits to identify existing test items and assignments that correspond to each SLO. By sampling and aggregating student scores on those items, a direct assessment of student learning for each SLO can be derived. Over a four- year cycle ending the year prior to the next CPPR, each of the Program and course SLOs will be assessed from assessments drawn from each of the courses in the Psychology program. Recent Psychology Program improvements that have been recently implemented are the approval of the Psychology Associate Degree for transfer (PSYC AA- T) and the new course, Research Methods for the Social and Behavioral Sciences (PSYC 200). We also have a new Tenure- track Regular Faculty member for the Psychology Program to support curriculum development and instruction of Psychology Program courses. D. Identify and describe any budget requests that are related to student learning outcomes assessment results or institutional objectives. Our previous SLOs assessments have supported Social Science Division Unit Plan requests for improving classroom infrastructure (computers, projection systems, seating) and adding full- time Psychology Program faculty to improve Program instruction. With our goal to improve student learning of research methods and critical thinking, and with significant increases in enrollments in the Biological Psychology and new Research Methods courses, there is a significant need for more classroom access for Psychology courses in the prime- times (9:30am- 2:00pm) and for course- specific demonstration materials and software (computer brain atlas, neuropsychological test banks and simulations, apparatus and experimental simulation software, psychological testing programs, etc.) to improve classroom instruction and student engagement. 9 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

10 IV. Program Development/Forecasting for the Next Academic Year Create a short narrative describing the development forecasting elements, indicating how they support efforts to achieve any of the following, where applicable: Program Outcomes, Institutional Goals, Institutional Objectives, and/or Institutional Learning Outcomes. A. New or modified action steps for achieving Institutional Goals and Objectives B. New or modified action steps for achieving Institutional Learning Outcomes C. New or modified action steps for achieving program outcomes D. Anticipated changes in curriculum and scheduling E. Levels or delivery of support services F. Facilities changes G. Staffing projections H. Strategies for responding to the predicted budget and FTES target for the next academic year Part A As listed in the Strategic Plan, Institutional Goal (1) of the district as specified by Institutional Objective 1.1 is to, promote successful completion of transfer requirements, in particular to increase the percentage of transfer- directed students. To that end, the enrollment of students in the psychology department has substantially shifted in recent semesters from pursuit of an A.A. to pursuit of an A.A.- T. As part of the required courses for the AA- T, students must complete the newly implemented course PSYC 200, Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. This course is therefore part of the core curriculum for students intending to transfer and as such is a class in high demand. Currently, the first section of the course to be offered is overenrolled by more than 50%. This places an major burden on the faculty member teaching it because this course requires a great deal of teacher/student interaction. Research methods covers topics which range from statistical analysis to effective consumption of scientific literature and production of independent written work. Skills emphasized include the seemingly banal yet precise attention to detail which is required by APA citation style, to critical evaluation, and artful design and discussion of psychological research. This wide variation in skills to be acquired by students necessitates time consuming work on the part of the instructor during office hours in terms of interaction, grading detailed assignments, and assisting in writing and independent research skills. Action step A1: As a discipline promoting the goals and objectives of the institution, psychology attempts to ensure that Research Methods is taught in both the Fall and Spring, as well as periodically at the North County Campus, to prevent future bottlenecks whereby students are unable to enroll in a course or cannot get as much individual assistance as they need from their instructors. Action step A2: Continue to provide courses critical for students obtainment of A.A.- T. on at least an annual basis. Part B As listed in the Institutional Learning Outcomes, students achieving the outcome of (ILO1) Personal, Academic and Professional development will be able to, recognize, assess, and demonstrate the skills and behaviors that promote academic and professional development. 10 San Luis Obispo County Community College District

11 Students who achieve ILO2, Critical thinking and communication, will be able to in part interpret complex information in a clear, ethical and logical manner. Under ILO3, Scientific and Environmental Understanding, students, will be able to draw conclusions based on the scientific method, computations, or experimental and observational evidence. ILO6 emphasizes technical and informational fluency, in particular locating and utilizing diverse sources [of information] effectively and producing projects using modern software and technology. In order to meet these ILOs globally, the psychology curriculum will continue to offer students courses which introduce and apply the scientific method, present complex information for interpretation (such as journal articles) and foster critical thinking. Psychological science as a discipline is in a unique position to do so, as classes like Introductory Psychology appeal to an institution- wide variety of students and is a prerequisite of non- program majors like Pre- Nursing. Per these ILOs, students must be able to use critical thinking and engage in research methods including research design, data analysis and interpretation. Successful completion of a research methods course will ensure this. However, due to limited resources available to Psychology majors at Cuesta, ILO6 cannot be accomplished at this time. In particular, students have extremely limited access to peer- reviewed psychological journals through the Cuesta library. Until students have access to full text peer- reviewed journals achievement of ILO6 will remain limited. Cuesta outlines through ILO3 the need to be able to use the scientific method and through ILO2 and ILO6 the promotion of ethical behavior. To integrate these ILOs, psychology students must have a clear understanding of research ethics. However, it is not sufficient enough to claim that students understand ethics; we must create an environment in which students employ the ethics we claim to hold dear. Thus, if students were to take a Research Methods class and were to collect their own human subjects data in a simple survey in order to successfully analyze and interpret results, Cuesta College must have an Institutional Review Board (IRB) review their survey instrument. To have students collect simplistic data from people on campus and analyze it without such a review would be a violation of the same ethics that we have pledged to imbue as an institution. IRBs at a non- research oriented institution are not without precedence as California Community College IRBs include the Santa Clarita Community College district, San Diego Community College District, and Merced College. Not only does a lack of an IRB at Cuesta inhibit student implementation of ethics but in the Fall 2009 Plenary session of the Academic Senate of the California Community College system, Resolution S09, stated: Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges strongly encourage local senates to consider the development of local college and district Institutional Review Board (IRB) Committees as a preventive measure to litigation and for the protection of the students and community that they serve; and Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges recommend that development of IRB Committees be a faculty driven collegial consultation process through each local senate in an effort to establish a culture of 11 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

12 compliance regarding protection of human subjects when conducting research and writing grants. Action Step B1: In promotion of the Institutional Learning Outcomes, Psychology hopes to expand institutional resources available to students. At the current time, extremely limited resources exist in order for students to independently investigate current scientific literature in the field of psychology. In order for students to achieve ILO2, ILO3, and ILO6, students must be able to find the content that they are to interpret. For that reason, peer- reviewed journal access for psychology must be significantly expanded through library services. Action step B2: Create an Institutional Review Board for Cuesta College to ensure the protection and ethical treatment of human subjects in research studies and to provide a working model for students of ethics in action. Part C PLO2 (Scientific Thinking and Research Methods in Psychology) requires that students be capable of interpreting and analyzing data to perform basic research methods. As part of a dedicated Research Methods course, students can be taught how to analyze data using data analysis tools. Most Research Methods textbooks refer to the program SPSS when discussing data analysis. At this time, Cuesta provides neither free nor discounted access to SPSS for instructors and students. Action step C: Purchase a site license for SPSS software so that Cuesta College Research Methods instructors and students have access to this data analysis tool. At the bare minimum, licenses must be provided to faculty of the Psychology program. Part D In the coming semesters, we will be offering more frequent sections of Research Methods in order to allow students to fulfill the requirements of the AA- T in Psychology. Currently, most courses that we offer in psychology are well represented at other colleges. According to data from c- id.net, Introductory Psych is taught at 137 California community college campuses; Social Psychology is taught at 76 campuses; Biopsychology is taught at 69; Research Methods is taught at 70. Personality and Adjustment is taught at 40 campuses. One course that is well represented amongst Psychology classes that is not taught at Cuesta is Abnormal Psychology, which is taught at 67 campuses. Knowing that psychology students are intending to transfer to CSUs and UCs, it is important to offer courses that not only transfer such that the student obtains an AA- T, but that prepare the student by offering analogous courses to those that appear at the university level. Introductory Psychology, Research Methods, Social Psychology and Biopsychology are classes that appear in the curricula of every UC and CSU offering a psychology degree. In terms of offering more breadth courses that appeal to a wide range of psychology students, Abnormal Psychology is a course which is represented throughout the UC and CSU system and remains unrepresented here at Cuesta. 12 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

13 Many students may be drawn to Psychology courses is because they are interested in learning about mental illnesses. In fact, given our proximity to Atascadero State Hospital, we have a number of students getting certified as psychiatric technicians through the Allied Health and Nursing Department. Although not a requirement, to offer Abnormal Psychology at some point in the future may be a direction to consider in service of our students interests and certification aspirations. Action step D: Consider developing a dedicated Abnormal Psychology course. Part E Going forward, some support services will need to be altered in order to maximize the expertise of students in the Psychology Program. The student services which need improvement in the future are: Libraries and the Student Success Center. For faculty, increased faculty development funding would provide greater opportunities for faculty development in the fields of psychology and the pedagogy of psychology. Per previous discussion, library resources for psychological literature searches by Research Methods students are currently inadequate. Cuesta College library has access to psychological journals through EBSCOhost, which is provided by the California Community College system. As the name implies, EBSCOhost serves as an umbrella search engine host for academic databases. These academic databases allow consumers of research to search for the topic of their choice and download full text journal articles. Under EBSCO s umbrella several psychological search engines exist including PsycARTICLES (with access to 110 psychological journals) and PsycINFO (with access to 2562 journals). Cuesta does not have access to Psyc ARTICLES nor does it have access to PsycINFO. Within EBSCO, Cuesta has access to 49 journals, many of which are neither useful to Psychology faculty nor undergraduates (for instance, the International Journal of Aviation Psychology) or are so heavily embargoed that recent research in area specific journals is unobtainable (for instance, Teaching of Psychology has a 3- year embargo). To have access to a reasonable range of recent peer- reviewed full text journal articles, Cuesta s library must purchase access above and beyond what the CCC system already provides the institution. Such access does not only benefit the psychology program, but also benefits the human development program. With regard to ongoing student services that bolster the work done in the psychology program, tutorial services can provide struggling students models of good study techniques and social support outside the instructor/student relationship. In recent years, requests for student tutors for psychology have become increasingly rare, suggesting that students who seek out a Psychology tutor may not readily find one. Thus, tutorial services needs continued and perhaps augmented support in order to foster the success of our students. Additionally, as Research Methods acquires ever greater prominence as an AA- T required course amongst students, assistance from the writing center will continue to be required by students who struggle with syntax, organization, and expression. Thus the writing center will also need continued support. 13 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District

14 Part F The Psychology program supports changes to facilities as requested by the Division. Part G Ongoing outreach to obtain adjunct faculty to serve students at all campuses continues as we attempt to address any turnover amongst the part- time faculty preemptively. Through these efforts we hope to establish a strong part- time faculty pool. Part H Given the recent trends in decreasing fill rate with increases in the number of sections, one strategy to implement going forward may be to reduce the number of sections offered, particularly poorly enrolled timeslots in the late afternoon. A wealth of psychological literature bolsters the assertion that a more limited number of class selections should actually increase enrollment in psychology classes, not just the fill rate. People in general and students in particular operate on the principle of scarcity, or the assumption that if something is rare, it must be good. The same option, when presented in abundance, is viewed as less than desirable (Cialdini & Trost, 1998). This well- established yet seemingly counterintuitive phenomenon has been exploited from corporations to Ivy League Universities. Anecdotal evidence suggests that scarcity may have been a strong factor in the heavy enrollment in the only Research Methods class offered in Spring Thus, offering different courses that allow students to progress successfully through the A.A.- T path, while curtailing the number of sections offered may be an effective method to increasing FTES for the program. 14 S an Luis Obispo County Community College District