Department of Political Science College of Social Sciences Program Planning Committee Letter to the Provost February 7, 2014

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1 Department of Political Science College of Social Sciences Program Planning Committee Letter to the Provost February 7, 2014 Overview: The Political Science Department offers BA and Master s in Public Administration (MPA) degrees. The MPA has earned accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration through The department also offers minors in Political Science and Public Administration. The mission of the department is to provide a liberal arts education with strong critical thinking skills and close attention to professional preparation. The Political Science Department has enjoyed steady undergraduate enrollment from AY to the present, averaging 116 majors (120 FTES from majors, 369 FTES from nonmajors). Enrollment in the MPA program in 2013 is 30 FTES. Graduates from the Political Science Department are trained to serve the public as administrators, the need for which is ongoing. Strengths: The primary strengths of the Political Science Department are organized around the following five points: 1. Community Connections: In both the undergraduate and the graduate program, students learn to become community leaders. In turn, the Department reaches out to high-profile political leaders from the community to teach courses and to guest lecture via the Edwards Lecture Series. Some of the more prominent leaders include Leon Panetta, Grey Davis, Erin Brockovich-Ellis, and Barbara Boxer. 2. Internships: The Department has a particularly strong internship program which includes the State Government Internship at Sacramento State University, the Capitol Fellows Program, and ongoing support for students offered by the Panetta Institute of Monterey Bay. Students who graduate from the department are obtaining employment in Washington, DC. 3. Alumni Association: One of the Department s successes is the robust alumni association that, in addition to maintaining contact with graduates, also helps with fundraising efforts that ultimately improve the experience and success of the current students. 4. Student Scholarships: The Department offers 8-10 scholarships annually and one endowed scholarship that supports student field trips to the California Supreme Court and to the State Capitol. 5. Collaboration: Many of the courses offered by Political Science are cross-listed with other departments, and some courses are constructed collaboratively. The Department prioritizes student-faculty collaboration as well. Challenges: The main challenges faced by the Political Science Department have to do with maintaining course offerings with an eroding faculty base in both the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. The rate at which faculty leave or retire is not matched by the recruitment and hire of tenure-line faculty, leaving lecturers to cover some important courses. The MPA accreditation guidelines recommend that five full-time faculty in Public Administration be maintained to teach at least 50% of the core classes; currently, the Political Science Department is operating with just three. The department also does not have a large number of graduate or undergraduate students in their program. This was noted by external reviewer and strongly recommended to increase

2 enrollment in the program. Further it was noted that the graduate program had a low graduation rate. A current challenge faced by the Department pertains to the American Institutions Waiver issue and SB 1440, a recent law that limits the requirements of transfer students effectively waiving core courses that are otherwise required. This issue is being addressed by the development of upper division courses designed for transfer students that gives them the basics of the concentration with fewer units. Although progress has been made in the area of program assessment since the last review, further progress is required. The undergraduate degree program has defined learning outcomes and is following an assessment schedule. Efforts to close the loop on the low exit exam scores for Breadth and Communication Skills should be undertaken, as well as assessment on the remaining learning outcomes. The graduate program has not yet reported any work in learning assessment. Finally, the department teaches lower and upper division GE courses, and has not submitted the GE Program Review according to S09-2, which is due at the same time as the program plan. Next Steps The final step in the program planning process is a meeting with Provost Feinstein (or his designee), AVP of Undergraduate Studies Jaehne, AVP of Graduate Studies and Research Stacks, AVP of Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics Sujitparapitaya, Dean Bienenfield, and Department Chair Danopoulos. The faculty of the Department are also invited to attend. The Department should contact staff in the Office of Undergraduate Studies to schedule the final meeting. An Action Plan for the Department will be developed and agreed upon during this time. Your next review will be due Fall The following topics of discussion are recommended: Justify need for recruitment of tenure-track faculty for undergraduate program as opposed to having lecturers teach the classes Recruit faculty for the graduate program to maintain accreditation Increase student enrollment in the graduate program Continue to increase student enrollment in undergraduate program Continue collaboration with programs in other departments in teaching and scholarship Prepare GE Program Review according to S09-2 and submit to BOGS Map Program Learning Outcomes for both degree programs to the University Learning Goals approved in Spring Advance assessment of student learning in both degree programs, particularly of the MPA program. Make all greensheets compliant with University Policy F06-2 Address low graduation rates in graduate program Address low test exit examination scores by undergraduate students to improve overall scores Recommendations from the Program Planning Committee The Program Planning Committee recommends acceptance of the Program Plan. The Program Plan provided a good examination of current and ongoing issues and an explanation of plans for subsequent reviewers. Spring 2014 PPC Members Jinny Rhee (Chair), Professor, Mechanical Engineering Dennis Jaehne, Interim Deputy Provost and AVP of Undergraduate Studies

3 Pamela Stacks, AVP of Graduate Studies Sutee Sujitparapitaya, AVP of Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics Amy D Andrade, Associate Professor, Social Work Mary Calegari, Professor, Accounting and Finance Adrienne Eastwood, Associate Professor, English Colleen Haight, Associate Professor, Economics Noorein Inamdar, Assistant Professor, School of Management Lili Luo, Associate Professor, School of Information Anthony Raynsford, Assistant Professor, Art and Art History Nadia Sorkhabi, Associate Professor, Child and Adolescent Development Wenbin Wei, Associate Professor, Aviation Brandon White, Associate Professor, Biology Mary Wilson, Lecturer, History Diana Wu, Librarian, University Library CC: Constantine Danopoulos, Chair, Department of Science Sheila Bienenfield, Dean, College of Social Studies Jan Lueck-English, Associate Dean, College of Social Sciences Stacy Gleixner, Chair, Curriculum and Research Dennis Jaehne, AVP Undergraduate Studies Pam Stacks, AVP Graduate Studies and Research Sutee Sujitparapitaya, AVP Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics

4 Appendix: Summary of Program Plan and Recommendations Program Description The Department of Political Science offers a B.A. degree and a Masters in Public Administration (MPA), as well as minors in Political Science and Public Administration. The MPA program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) and recently earned an extension of its accreditation until They teach a range of lower and upper division GE courses for the university, listed below as of Fall2013: POLS 020, Controversial Legal Issues (A3) POLS 003, Introduction to Political Thought (C2) POLS 014Q, Awake in Utopia (D1) POLS 015A and B, U.S., History and Government (D2, D3, F1, F2, and F3) POLS 002, Introduction to Comparative Politics (D2) POLS 004, Introduction to International Relations (D3) POLS 001, American Government (F2 and F3) POLS 170 and 170V, Topics Am History: Am Identities (F1) POLS 170V, Topics Am History: Am Identities (F2, F3, V) POLS 102, State Government & Politics (F3) POLS 120, Law & Society (S) POLS 150, War & Peace (V) POLS 100W, Written Communication II (Z) A GE Reflective Statement was written and is contained in a separate Appendix. However, only the lower division GE courses were discussed, and the format of the GE Program Review (Senate Policy S09-2) was not followed. The guidelines can be found on the Program Planning website ( The GE Program Review should be prepared at the earliest convenience and submitted to BOGS. Summary of Changes and Actions The units in UG program has been reduced to 120. The Political Science department last completed a program review in Previous Letter to the Provost in 2006 made the following recommendations, and the department has responded to these recommendations: 1. a more thorough analysis of enrollment and projection of trends 2. spread of faculty workload between Political Science and the MPA program 3. faculty workload outside of the program. 4. evidence of learning outcome assessment and use in program improvement Assessment of Student Learning The assessment efforts of the undergraduate degree program in Political Science were discussed in the program plan. There was minimal discussion or data for the MPA program. The documentation of student learning outcome achievement was recommended in the last program review. Although significant progress has been made since then, additional progress is required moving forward. For the BA program, the comprehensiveness of the Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) are self-assessed to be in the Emerging category. As the department recognizes, steps should be

5 taken to map the PLOs to the University Learning Goals approved in Spring 2013, and national disciplinary standards should be considered, if they exist. The external evaluator felt that the curricular content was adequate, and that no major changes were required. The assessability of the 5 PLOs for the BA program is: Developed for Breadth and Communication Skills; Emerging for Disciplinary Methods; and Initial for Application and Citizenship. Breadth and Communication Skills have been assessed through performance on a multiple-choice exit exam and senior seminar papers evaluated with a rubric by the department Curriculum Committee, respectively. A common rubric for assessing Disciplinary Methods was under development at the time of the report. The last two PLOs, Application and Citizenship, while scheduled for assessment, had not been addressed at the time of the report. If helpful, the VALUE rubrics published by AAC&U might provide starting places for developing the additional rubrics and assessment instruments required. VALUE rubrics have been tested at a wide range of universities, and cover skills such as critical thinking, inquiry and analysis, information literacy, and civic knowledge and engagement that might be useful moving forward. Further resources for using the VALUE rubrics are available on the Program Assessment website ( Alignment of the BA PLOs to the curriculum is Emerging; to move to the next category, the assessment cycle should be completed and a curriculum map showing where outcomes are addressed should be prepared. Assessment planning is Developed; a clear 5-year schedule exists with one PLO assessed per year. Student Experience is Emerging; the PLOs are readily available on the department website, and the department is considering including them in course syllabi in the future. The proposed use of exit interviews and focus groups to assess student awareness of the PLOs is an excellent idea. Assessment of the MPA program overall is sparse at the time of the report. There were no stated PLOs, only that the 5 core competencies required by WASC were considered. The program plan mentioned that their accrediting agency, NASPAA, moved to an outcome-based assessment requirement in Efforts to comply with this should obviously be articulated and documented moving forward. Required Data Elements In FA11, the department offered 27 courses and 59 sections for undergraduate courses and 9 courses and 12 sections for graduate courses. The average headcount per section for undergraduate courses was 25.8, which is comparable to the college (29.2) and university (26.8) averages. The average headcount in the graduate program was The SFR (28.7) was higher than college (22.9) and university (21.5) averages with an FTES of and FTEF of 11.5 for undergraduate courses. The SFR was 16 with FTES of 33 and FTEF of 2.1 for graduate courses. The induced load matrix shows that a large number of other majors take undergraduate classes in the Political Sciences department, as expected for a department teaching GE courses. However, over the period of , there has been a steady decrease in the total number of students who take their courses (1498 in FA07 compared to 1248 in FA11). The induced course load matrix for the graduate program indicates that students from 2-5 other majors take their courses. Over the period of FA07-FA11, the program saw fluctuation in the number of first time freshman applying to their program with a high of 404 (FA10) to a low of 314 (FA11). In FA11, there were 328 majors in the department, 255 of whom were undergraduates and 73 of whom are graduate students. The department awarded 61 undergraduate and 28 graduate degrees in FA11.

6 In FA10, retention rates for first-time freshman was 85.7% which is comparable to the college (83.6%) and university (87.1%) norms. In FA05, graduate rates for first-time freshman: 6-year was 50% which was also comparable to college (51.5%) and university (46.6%). In FA10, retention rates for transfer students was 81% which is comparable to the college (85.8) and university (88%) norms. In FA08, the 3-year graduation rate was 50% which is somewhat below the college (62.2%) but comparable to the university (51.7%). For graduate students, first year retention rates were 81.5% in FA10, and 3-year graduation rates were 38.2% for the FA08 cohort. The graduation rates are below the college (52.5) and university (62.1) rates. Program Resources According to the SJSU Catalog in S14, there are currently 11 tenured/tenure-track professors in the department. According to the IEA website, in Fall 2013, there were 14.2 instructional FTEF in the department, with 7.4 tenured, 2.0 probationary, and 4.8 temporary. This corresponds to a percentage of 66% tenured/tenure-track instructional faculty in the department. Other Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths: In the university s strategic plan, community connections was identified as a goal. The Department of Political Science excels in this area through community connections and civic engagement through internships, field trips and exchange programs for their students. The department has establish many interdisciplinary connections through numerous departments (history, engineering, communications, teacher prep) The department has established numerous scholarships for their students. Weaknesses: Loss of tenured faculty due to retirement Waiver of American institutions for transfer students due to SB1440 and 120 unit degree. Greensheets are not compliant with University Policy F06-2. Lack of assessment for classes Low number of majors in both the graduate and undergraduate programs Recommendations from the Department Recruit two tenure track faculty for undergraduate program in the fields of International Relations/Latin America and state/local government Develop a solution to waiver of American Institutions GE courses for transfer students in conjunction with History department Recommendations from External Evaluator (Review Conducted October 2013) Maintain a balance of course offerings each term in the major subject areas so students are able to complete their Focus Areas and graduate on schedule Find additional ways to promote the department s extensive internship program as a recruitment tool to increase the numbers of majors and minors. In addition to testing the breadth of knowledge in political science, develop a rubric to assess how well students are progressing in learning all five learning outcomes. Develop targeted recruitment plans at the local and community colleges to sustain and increase in enrollments in the major at the undergraduate level

7 Immediate need to hire a tenure track faculty member in the field of International Relations/Latin America Develop plans to hire faculty in area of state and local government to replace FERP faculty Add additional course offerings (electives) to the MPA Program Increase enrollment in MPA Program Hire an additional faculty member in support of the MPA Program in the next 1-2 years Streamline 15A-B course and make it more consistent in how course is taught Address and examine low test exit examination scores by students to improve overall scores Create a rubric to evaluate the five student learning outcomes in the department for assessment Recommendations from Dean The Dean did not have any recommendations and was in full agreement with both the departmental report and external reviewer. Recommendations from the Program Planning Committee Justify need for recruitment of tenure-track faculty for undergraduate program. Recruit faculty for the graduate program to maintain accreditation. Increase student enrollment in the graduate program Continue to Increase student enrollment in undergraduate program Continue collaboration with programs in other departments in teaching and scholarship Prepare GE Program Review according to S09-2 and submit to BOGS Map Program Learning Outcomes for both degree programs to the University Learning Goals approved in Spring Advance assessment of student learning in both degree programs, particularly of the MPA program. Make all greensheets compliant with University Policy F06-2 Address low graduation rates in graduate program Address low test exit examination scores by undergraduate students to improve overall scores