School of Agriculture Assessment Results for 2013-2014 1) College/School: School of Agriculture 2) Review your student learning outcomes (SLOs). Please update as needed. The outcomes can be found at http://www.missouristate.edu/assessment/131536.htm. 3) Indicate where your SLOs are published: College/School/Major Division website. Provide URL: 2T Student handbook. Provide URL, if available online: 2T Information sheet, flyer, or brochure. Provide URL, if available online: 2T MSU undergraduate course catalog. Provide page number(s): 2T MSU graduate course catalog. Provide page number(s): 2T Course syllabi. Provide URL, if available online: 2T Office of Assessment website (in College Assessment Plans from 2012): http://www.missouristate.edu/assessment/plans.htm 4) For your college/school, the approximate percent of departments that have SLOs explicitly stated on a website or other publicly available document is as follows: 0% Working on this. Will be updated by Fall 2014. 5) Did your college/school engage in any college assessment activities between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013? (e.g., establishing/revising outcomes, aligning the curriculum to outcomes, collecting evidence, interpreting evidence, using results, revising and assessment plan, setting assessment goals, sharing assessment results, creating surveys or tests, etc.)? Yes No 6) Approximately what percent of departments/programs in your college/school/major division engaged in assessment activities between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014? 100% 1
Please select a department or program from your college/school/major division to answer the following questions: 7) For the period of June 1, 2009-June 30, 2014, describe 3-5 examples from a department or program in which evidence of student learning was used to make changes and/or improve. The goal of this section is to highlight assessment of student learning. The highlighted program or department should be different than the one you focused on last year. The story will be highlighted on the Assessment in Action stories on the Office of Assessment web page. Describe one department s focus on assessment of student learning. Describe one department s use of student evidence and how they used the evidence to make changes to a course, program, or experience. Using the results can range from A) changes to the presentation of the material in a course to a faculty meeting or, B) discussion about changes to minor and major curriculum changes. Explain the process of assessment of student learning, evidence that was collected and used, and the changes made. Animal Industry Study We utilized an Agricultural Business Industry study the success of which, prompted us to add an Animal Industry study after we realized that we have a limited perspective on animal agriculture in Southwest Missouri. Further, we found that we needed to broaden student s understanding of animal agriculture based on the feedback received from student internships in Colorado and Kansas. These students were amazed. They had some knowledge going out there, but what they learned here did not apply as well in Colorado or Kansas because of differences in climate and size. Students are used to 200 acre cattle operations in Missouri. In Colorado and Kansas, There it s 200 sections. There are a lot of differences in methods of agriculture across the country. A lot of students who did internships with big companies were caught by surprise. There s an unexpected variety across the country. For example: less water in the Great Plains. The regional variations prompted us to develop a collaborative study between the University of Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri. Agricultural Advocacy Forum The Ag department has hosted the Agricultural Advocacy Forum for over 15 years. In order to decide on a topic, Agriculture students, students at Missouri State, and people from different grocery stores were surveyed and asked questions such as, What are the issues that concern you about agriculture. 2
The concern over GMOs showed the strongest results and that s what we addressed in an open-to-the-public Agriculture Advocacy forum. Exit Survey Results and Developing Opportunities for More Hands-On Learning The department developed an exit survey for seniors. Based on student feedback from the surveys, the agriculture department added a hands-on component. The School of Ag has used the Journagan Ranch as a resource to develop more hands-on experiences for students including short internships. Basic Animal Science classes now have access to more labs. There will be more short-term internships on our facilities and more opportunities to work directly with animals. Results from the Exit Survey have led us to emphasize Animal Welfare. Student and Employer Feedback on a Forestry Position We are hiring a natural resource and forestry person, based on student feedback. Students kept saying we need more forestry. It was substantiated by the Conservation Department and the end user employers. Agriculture Communication and Social Media Employers are saying we need more social media, we need to modify our program. Based on employer feedback and student feedback from internships, we have hired a full-time person for Ag Communications to put them in charge of leading the effort to help students have the opportunity to learn more about social media. First step is to hire someone and put them in charge of leading that effort. 8) State evidence used to indicate how well students achieved those goals: a. Direct measure(s): (could include a sample of student work analyzed by faculty to find strengths and weaknesses, faculty observations based on student work, or certificate or licensure exam, test results, etc.) Student Work Public Affairs Scale collected in GEP 101 and in the capstone. b. Indirect measure(s): (student surveys, focus groups, exit interviews, alumni surveys and feedback, employer surveys, course evaluations, NSSE, University Exit Exam, etc.) Exit Survey collected by Agriculture in the senior year. 3
Feedback from alumni and employers. The School has a monthly meeting of 15 club presidents from the schools. 9) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected? (Check all that apply.) Course instructor(s) Faculty committee Ad hoc faculty group Department chairperson Persons or organization outside the university Faculty advisor Staff advisor (e.g., from student support services) Students (graduate or undergraduate) Dean/Director 10) How did they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence? (Check all that apply.) Used a rubric or scoring guide Scored exams/tests/quizzes Used professional judgment (no rubric or scoring guide used) Compiled survey results Used qualitative methods on interview, focus group, open-ended response data External organization/person analyzed data (e.g., external organization administered and scored the nursing licensing exam) 11) Beyond the results, state additional conclusions or discoveries. This can include insights about assessment procedures, teaching and learning, program aspects, etc. People also expressed an interest in Summer Internships at the ranch, so we ve added those. Since Jim has been here in GEP we use one of our big lectures and bring all the classes together. Students give presentations back to the group about opportunities (such as opportunities to get involved). Even for incoming freshmen, we start talking about internships. 4
5