Appendix A: Assessment s * Assessment for all programs is ongoing, but will not be reported until at least 5 students have graduated with minor. dates are blank for now, but will be changed once programs have graduated sufficient students. Program: American Indian Studies Assessment period: 2010-2012 The mission of the American Indian Studies minor is to provide students with an understanding of the cultural, historical, political, and social contexts and processes of native communities and individuals primarily within the United States, and to introduce students to perspectives and techniques of applying academic knowledge to problem-solving and service to native groups. Content: Students will demonstrate the ability to apply the knowledge base, concepts, and literature of several courses in the field of American Indian Studies to specific issues and situations involving American Indian communities Methods: Students will demonstrate the ability to identify appropriate sources of information about American Indians, and to organize those sources effectively so that they can be used to address issues in American Indian Studies. submission date: 2/16/2010 David R. Wilson Means of Assessment & Criteria for Enrollment in Practicum course. Participate in service learning project and submit reflective essay in which material learned in other AIS courses will be discussed. Criteria for success: satisfactory rating of essay. Enrollment in Practicum course. Participate in class research project and submit overview essay in which student demonstrates understanding of sources and methodologies. Criterion for success: satisfactory rating of essay. Summary & Analysis of Assessment submission date: Revised 04-2010
Assessment Record Program: American Studies Assessment period: Fall 2010-2012 The American Studies program takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of American cultures. Through examination of historical, religious and literary texts, political institutions, popular culture, film, art, and the physical landscape, students will explore how Americans create meaning in their lives and make sense of the world in which they live. By encouraging students to approach the knowledge and skills they are mastering as part of their major from the perspective of other disciplines, American Studies courses foster deeper critical thinking and broader contextualization. Thus an American Studies minor offers students a strong complement to a wide variety of majors. Content History Graduating students will submit a portfolio made up of one paper from each of their upper-division IDST courses. Papers will be assessed by members of the AMST committee, or an external reviewer. CFS=A score of 85% or better for each paper by at least 80% of students. Same as above. Interdisciplinarity Same as above. submission date: 4/14/10 Bill Cobb submission date: 2
Program: Cinema Studies Assessment period: Fall 2010-2012 1. Content. Students should have a broad knowledge of primary and secondary cinematic texts from the United States and around the world. They should understand the basic concepts of film studies (film as text, theoretical frameworks, contexts gender, ideology and identity--, culture, history and reception), be able to apply specific theoretical paradigms to individual films and express effectively, in oral and written contexts, their own analyses. 2. History. Students should have a broad understanding of the history of cinema from the early years to the present (invention, early years, silent era, development of sound, Hollywood studio system, other cinemas before 1945, postwar era, contemporary cinema, and cinema in the electronic age). 3. Interdisciplinarity. Students should have a broad understanding of how cinema studies articulates with other areas and disciplines of study. (See mission for description of each area.) 1. Content Content continued... Each graduating senior will submit a capstone project. An external reviewer will evaluate each project to determine student success in Content area. Criteria for success (CFS): 85% of projects will receive a score of 85% or better. Each graduating senior will take an exam on Content through the capstone course. CFS: 80% of students will receive a score of 85% or better. 2. History Each graduating senior will take an exam on History through the capstone course. CFS: 80% of students will receive a score of 85% or better. 3. Interdisciplinarity Capstone project s Interdisciplinarity evaluated by external reviewer. CFS: 85% of projects will receive a score of 85% or better. submission date: 4/14/10 Jans Wager submission date: 3
Program: Deaf Studies Assessment period: 2010-2012 To prepare students with the knowledge and skills they need to do some or all of the following (as determined by their chosen field): (1) find meaningful employment for themselves; (2) function in private or public workplaces that serve Deaf consumers/citizens. (3) increase general awareness and understanding of the Deaf-World among those with whom they interact; (4) interpret in a professional manner and increase the level of professionalism within the field. (5) gain acceptance to graduate school to pursue further study within their discipline. (6) increase the opportunities for Utah s Deaf citizens to obtain meaningful employment. Students will have a high degree of proficiency in American Sign Language. Student surveys will reveal excellent or better scores on issues related to student learning. Graduates survey results will confirm that they are satisfied that the curriculum has prepared them with the knowledge and skills they need to accomplish the program s mission as it applies to their chosen fields. Means of Assessment & Criteria for Graduating seniors will score at least a rating of 3 of 5 on the American Sign Language Proficiency Interview and will average at least 3.7. All courses and instructors will receive no class-average scores of student of 3.5 or lower on the Student Ratings of Instructors (SRI). All program SRI ratings will average 4.3 or higher. A survey of graduating seniors will reveal that they express satisfaction with the program (e.g. curriculum, faculty, support, etc.) Summary & Analysis of Assessment submission date: February 2010 submission date: April 2011 Bryan Eldredge Bryan Eldredge 4
Program: Environmental Studies Assessment period: Fall 2010-2012 (1) History. Students should have a broad understanding of the history of notions of the human relationship to nonhuman nature from ancient Greek antiquity to the present within the Western (Occidental) intellectual tradition. (2) Content. Students should have a broad knowledge of ecological relationships between human beings with other biota and the inanimate environment. Students should have an understanding of how the natural sciences, including the psychical and life sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences, contribute to an understanding of ways in which human activity impacts the structure and function of ecological systems, from local to global scales. Additionally, students should be able to assess current environmental public policy issues in terms of Environmental Studies. (3) Interdisciplinarity. Students should have a broad understanding of how the natural sciences, the social sciences, economics, and the humanities integrate within the framework of Environmental Studies. 1. History Each student of Introduction to Environmental Studies (ENST 3000) will take an exam based on the history of the human relationship to nonhuman nature in the Western intellectual tradition. Criteria for success: 80% of students will receive a score of 85 or better on the History portion of the exam. 2. Content ENST 3000 students will write a 2,000-word semester paper. The students will be asked to either (a) write a philosophical paper critiquing an ideology of the human place in nature of a major thinker or thinkers in the Western intellectual tradition or (b) assess and draw conclusions about a contemporary environmental public policy issue in terms of a thinker or theme addressed in the course syllabus. Criteria for success: 80% of students will receive a score of 85 or better on the Content portion of the exam. 5
3. Interdisciplinarity (3) Interdisciplinarity. The ENST 3000 semester paper described above must include an interdisciplinary integration of natural science with the humanities and social sciences. Criteria for success: 85% will receive a score of 85% or better on their capstone project. submission date: 4/14/10 Dan Stephen submission date: 6
Program: Gender Studies Assessment period: Fall 2010-2012 1. Content. Students will be able to study the extent to which gender and gender relations are socially influenced. Students will examine the ways in which conceptions of masculinity and femininity directly impact social and political institutions and practices, cultural expressions (such as art, communication, media, literature, music, and film), law, education, business, scientific inquiry, interpersonal relations, sexuality and family. 2. Interdisciplinarity. As an interdisciplinary program, the Gender Studies minor broadens students understanding of their chosen major while facilitating the recognition of gender dynamics in their own lives. Students will be able to examine gender from multiple academic perspectives through the development of critical reading, writing and discussion skills. Content: 1. Provide opportunities in classes to develop different interests in gender relations as they pertain to the student s plans for postgraduate study and/or professional employment. 2. Provide extra-curricular opportunities for students that pertain to their own interests and goals in Gender Studies 3. Increase collaboration with other IDST programs on campus. submission date: 2/17/2010 Shannon Mussett Content. Each graduating senior will submit a portfolio of his or her top two papers or projects pertaining to Gender Studies to be reviewed by an external evaluator. Criteria for success: 75 percent of students will receive a score of 75% or better on their capstone project. Each graduating senior will take an exam on Content through the capstone course. Criteria for success: 80% of students will receive a score of 85 or better on the Content portion of the exam. None yet. GNDR has recently changed the minor, effectively removing the Capstone requirement for all seniors. As such, the program must begin a new method of analysis, which should be available for the next assessment cycle. submission date: 7
Program: Peace and Justice Studies Assessment period: Fall 2010-2012 1. Content: Students will gain a broad understanding of the history of theorizations justifying mass organized violence and of theories of peace. Theories of morality regarding war, peacemaking, and justice will be understood. Theories of justice will also be understood. Practical application in the field, and in legal, diplomatic, political, economic, and business institutions; and in NGOs, will be understood. The history of peacemaking and conflict resolution strategies will be understood. The history of institutional, political, and economic changes (e.g., the development of human rights theorization, discourse, and application in law and international policy) will be understood. Students will understand basic traditions, research methodologies, and literatures related to all the above. 2. Interdisciplinarity: Students will understand above in relation to various academic disciplines and vocations, for example: political science, sociology, philosophy, English literature, law, psychology, history, the humanities and arts, and natural sciences. Content & Interdisciplinarity: (These papers/evaluations will be compared to others over the long term so as to produce a longitudinal understanding of what is being taught well and less well; and to assess change in student comprehension over the long term.) submission date: 4/14/10 Michael Minch Each PJST student will be assigned a paper (minimum of 10 pages in length) demonstrating his or her understanding of important themes, conceptions, developments, and applications of components essential to Peace and Justice Studies. The criteria of success are: (1) 70% of the students shall receive a grade of B+ or better, as evaluated by the course instructor; and (2) an independent outside reader of the same papers will grade 70% of the papers with a grade of B+ or better. submission date: 8
Program: Religious Studies Assessment period: Fall 2010-2012 1. Content. Students should have a broad knowledge of the core beliefs and practices of the major religious traditions along with a basic understanding of the major approaches to the academic study of religion. Students should be able to critically apply theoretical method to various religious beliefs and practices in a variety of social contexts. In addition, students should be able to engage the relationship between religion and other cultural phenomena. 2. History. Students should have a broad understanding of the history of religions and their development from antiquity to the present (the interplay of animism, polytheism, ethical monotheism along with forms of Asian nontheistic religious development). 3. Interdisciplinarity. Students should have a broad understanding of how religious studies articulates with other areas and disciplines of study. Content: History: Content. Each student will be required to take Approaches to Religious Studies and Issues in Religious Studies and will be required to complete a substantial research project. Criteria for success: 80% of the students will receive a score of 80% or higher (results will be evaluated by an external reviewer). 2. History. Each student will take Western Religions and Eastern Religions, which addresses the historical development of religions and their inter-relations. Criteria for success: 80% of students will receive a score of 80 or better on the history portions of the exams. 9
Interdisciplinarity: The core requirements for the minor contain strong and mutually supportive interdisciplinary components. Criteria for success: 80 percent of students will receive a score of 80% or better on the interdisciplinary portions of exams and research projects. submission date: 4/14/10 Brian Birch submission date: 10