College of Arts & Sciences Political Science Major
Political Science Major Overview Recent Improvements Program Troy Campus Montgomery Campus ecampus Expected Outcomes and Results Program Troy Campus Montgomery Campus ecampus Plans for Further Improvement Program Troy Campus Montgomery Campus ecampus President Barack Obama delivering his State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress, Jan 27, 2010 (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Program Overview Troy University offers an undergraduate Political Science Major at the Troy Campus, Montgomery Campus, and through the online facilities of ecampus In-class and ecampus undergraduate Political Science courses also support Troy University s General Studies Program and Political Science Minor Troy University s Undergraduate Political Science Major provides focused study in three concentrations American Politics International Politics Public Administration
Program Overview Troy University Political Science full-time faculty are assigned as follows: Full-time Adjunct Troy 6 2 Montgomery 1 3 ecampus 4 13 Dothan 1 0 Full-time faculty from Montgomery, Dothan, and Troy may also teach online courses for ecampus.
Academic Discipline Committee (ADC) ADC Representatives Troy Campus Charles Krupnick Montgomery Campus Thomas S. Kolasa Dothan Campus Richard Martin ecampus William McDaniel ADC Annual Meeting Date and Location March 18, 2010 at the Troy Campus Attendees Charles Krupnick, Thomas S. Kolasa, William McDaniel, and Samuel Shelton (Political Science instructor at the Troy campus); the meeting proposals and recommendations were vetted with Richard Martin by e-mail he contributed to the courses of action Topics covered Program Strengths and Weaknesses A strength of the Political Science Majors program was the high quality of its instructors and the growth of the program on ecampus and the Montgomery campus A weakness of the program was the low percentage of courses taught on ecampus by full-time Troy instructors; this could be aggravated over the next few years by the possibility of retirement by two or three full-time Political Science instructors The pending hiring of four full-time Master of International Relations instructors will provide additional Political Science resources, but the management of instructor assets in the coming years will require difficult tradeoffs The members were pleased to get together and looked forward to future meetings.
Academic Discipline Committee (ADC) ADC Annual Meeting (continued) Topics covered Student Learning Assessment The Political Science Major Field Test (MFT) currently used is adequate but includes comparative government, a concentration not offered by Troy University; the MFT also has a low rate of participation Action: Continue using the MFT through fall 2011; work to change the assessment means for spring 2011 Student Research Assessment POL 3300 Foundations of Political Science is a required course for the Political Science Major; it has a research methods component and is a suitable measure of undergraduate research achievement Action: Adopt POL 3300 as the Political Science Major measure of student research achievement; the assessment measure will be that 60% of students taking POL 3300 will achieve a B or better in the course; strengthen the emphasis on research intent and measurement in the course objectives Update course offerings for the Political Science Major to include new courses on Southern Politics and the Politics of Asia Action: The Chair will prepare and submit an Undergraduate Catalog change proposal by June 1, 2010, to include the addition of courses on Southern Politics and the Politics of Asia
Academic Discipline Committee (ADC) (continued) ADC Annual Meeting (continued) Topics covered General Studies course POL 2241 American National Government has used American Government: Institutions and Policies by James Q. Wilson and John J. Dilulio, Jr. as its textbook for several years; while an excellent resource, it is also very expensive considerably more so than some available alternatives Action: Retain the Wilson text for academic year 2010-2011, but negotiate potential lower cost alternatives for the text such as loose leaf and rented books; ADC members will evaluate alternative textbooks during academic year 2010-2011 Student attitude survey data is currently drawn from a Troy University provided central data base; student participation is not high and reports are difficult to read Action: The Chair will look into improving the current survey process and investigate alternatives; he will report status and recommendations to the ADC by the end of fall semester 2010
As a result of prior assessment and plans for improvement, the program has achieved these Recent Improvements: Program A summer study abroad program to be held at the University of Padova, Italy, was fully organized; it will not be conducted, however, because an insufficient number of students were able to commit to the program General J. Gary Cooper former US Ambassador to Jamaica is Troy University Ambassador in Residence for 2009-2010; he participated in events at the Troy and Montgomery campuses during October 2009 Troy Campus Dr. Steven L. Taylor was selected for promotion to Professor Dr. Charles Krupnick was selected for promotion to Associate Professor The Department of Political Science and the Political Science Club ran a highly successful Constitution Day program that included in-class presentations, posters advertising the event with copies of the Bill of Rights, and an actual-sized Constitution that all students and faculty were invited to sign; pocket-sized Constitutions and Political Science labeled tablets were also distributed A lighted display case was installed near the Department of Political Science Office in MSCX to highlight the department s undergraduate major and graduate Students of the Year and the Troy University Ambassador in Residence Dr. Thomas Kolasa, a full-time instructor at the Troy Montgomery campus, has begun teaching Political Science courses at the Troy campus as well
Recent Improvements (cont.) Montgomery Campus Dr. Thomas Kolasa was certified and selected to teach the master s level course IR 6685 Terrorism and Political Violence during summer 2010 at the Troy University site in Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Japan Dr. Kolasa created a new POL 4494 Select Topics course called 20 th Century Wars Dr. Kolasa went to the Teaching & Learning Conference of the American Political Science Association to present a paper on Troy University and the challenges it faces with its diverse student body New state-of-the-art computer labs have been completed for use by all fields at the Montgomery Campus; Political Science intends to access them for future political simulation hybrid courses being developed by Dr. Kolasa Dr. Kolasa continued to be the Advisor for the History & Social Science Association (HSSA), which does workshops, educational films, and field-trips HSSA, which consists mostly of Political Science students, did a Constitution Day table; they handed out US Constitutions and answered questions from passersby HSSA also had field trips to the U.S.S. Alabama Museum & Memorial (Mobile, AL) and the Space Center (Huntsville, AL) ecampus Undergraduate Political Science courses taught on ecampus are routinely evaluated through participation in the ecampus Quality Assessment program
Expected Outcomes and Results The effectiveness of Troy University s Political Science Program and its offerings is measured by the following Expected Outcomes and Results (1-5 and 8-12 are Program Outcomes; 6-7 are Student Learning Outcomes): 1. Number of Political Science Majors 2. Number of Political Science Graduates 3. Number of Political Science Majors with overseas learning experience 4. Number of Political Science Majors participating in Political Science related internships 5. Percentage of Political Science courses taught by full-time instructors 6. 60% of Seniors above the 50% percentile on the Political Science Major Field Test. Student learning outcomes assessed in this examination include: Student s ability to define key terms and concepts in political science Student s ability to identify and analyze the major instruments of political science. The Major Field Test draws from material commonly offered in undergraduate political science programs; questions are divided into five major content areas (US Government, International Relations, Comparative Government, Political Thought, and Methodology), some of which evaluate student critical thinking and analysis.
Expected Outcomes and Results, cont. The effectiveness of Troy University s Political Science Program and its offerings is measured by the following Expected Outcomes and Results (1-5 and 8-12 are Program Outcomes; 6-7 are Student Learning Outcomes): 7. 60% of Seniors received a B or better in POL 3300 Foundations of Political Science a measure of research achievement that addresses the ability of a student to plan and execute a substantial research project to investigate an issue in the field of political science. 8. 85% of Seniors are satisfied or highly satisfied with the overall quality of the Political Science program. 9. 80% of students are Satisfied or Highly Satisfied with the University library resources. 10. 80% of students are Satisfied or Highly Satisfied with faculty use of technology to enhance teaching. 11. 80% of students are Satisfied or Highly Satisfied with advising. 12. 80% of students are Satisfied or Highly Satisfied with faculty accessibility.
Program Outcomes & Assessment Methods Expected Outcomes Supporting Courses Assessment Method 1. Number of Political Science Majors NA Databases 2. Number of Political Science Graduates All courses and support Databases 3. Number of Political Science Majors with overseas learning experience NA Management input 4. Number of Political Science Majors participating in Political Science related internships 5. Percentage of Political Science courses taught by full-time instructors NA NA Management input Databases
Expected Outcomes & Assessment Methods Expected Outcomes (EOs) Supporting Courses Assessment Method 6. 60% of Political Science majors are above the 50 th percentile in the Political Science Major Field Test total score 7. 75% of students receive a B or better in research achievement, i.e., POL 3300 8. 85% of Political Science Seniors are Satisfied or Highly Satisfied with the overall quality of the Political Science program 9. 80% of students are satisfied or highly satisfied with library resources 10. 80% of students are satisfied or highly satisfied with faculty use of technology to enhance teaching 11. 80% of students are satisfied or highly satisfied with advising 12. 80% of students are satisfied or highly satisfied with faculty accessibility POL 2240/2241 POL 3300 POL 2260 POL 3330 POL 3300 All courses and support NA NA NA NA Final Examination Political Science Major Field Test; the test measures student understanding of US Government, International Relations, Comparative Government, Political Thought, and Methodology Final Grade POL 3300 has a methodological component; its grade measures student understanding of Political Science research processes and goals Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey
Expected Outcomes and Results 1 Number of Political Science Majors Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result Program 115 104 118 142 121 Expectation Exceeded Troy 80 76 82 91 83 Expectation Exceeded Montgomery 35 28 36 51 38 Expectation Exceeded ecampus 200 224 209 255 229 Expectation Exceeded
Expected Outcomes and Results 2 Number of Political Science Graduates Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result Program 40 32 14 4 19 Expectation Troy 25 16 12 2 11 Expectation Montgomery 15 16 2 2 8 Expectation ecampus 50 24 48 13 35 Expectation Note: Fall 2009 data normalized to one year for Average calculation
Expected Outcomes and Results 3 Number of Political Science Majors Participating in Overseas Learning Experiences Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result Program 6 0 0 0 0 Expectation Troy 4 0 0 0 0 Expectation Montgomery 2 0 4 0 1 Expectation
Expected Outcomes and Results 4 Number of Political Science Majors Participating in Political Science Related Internships Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result Program 12 9 7 1 6 Expectation Troy 8 9 5 1 6 Expectation Montgomery 4 0 2 0 1 Expectation Note: Fall 2009 normalized to one year for Average calculation
Expected Outcomes and Results 5 Percentage of Political Science courses taught by full-time faculty Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result Program 50% 45/71 50/72 43/64 67% Exceeds Expectation Troy 50% 23/32 27/33 25/32 77% Exceeds Expectation Montgomery 50% 11/15 13/17 8/15 68% Exceeds Expectation ecampus 50% 33/92 37/94 30/80 38% Expectation This outcome compares Program (in-class) with ecampus (online) results
Expected Outcomes and Results 6 Percentage of Graduating Political Science Majors above 50% percentile on the Political Science Major Field Test Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result Program 60% 11/16 3/6 1/3 60% Expectation Met Troy 60% 11/16 3/6 1/3 60% Expectation Met Montgomery 60% 0/0 0/0 0/0 NA NA ecampus 60% 0/0 0/0 0/0 NA NA This outcome compares Program (in-class) with ecampus (online) results
Expected Outcomes and Results 7 Percentage of Students Receiving a B or better in POL 3300 Foundations of Political Science (a measure of research achievement) Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result Program 75% NA NA 32/50 64% Expectation Troy 75% NA NA 25/40 63% Expectation Montgomery 75% NA NA 7/10 70% Expectation ecampus 75% NA NA 20/26 77% Expectation Met This outcome compares Program (in-class) with ecampus (online) results
Expected Outcomes and Results 8 Percentage of Political Science Seniors who are satisfied with the overall quality of the Political Science program Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result Program 85% NA 54/56 14/14 97% Exceeds Expectation Troy 85% NA NA 11/11 100% Exceeds Expectation Montgomery 85% 88% 92% 3/3 93% Exceeds Expectation ecampus 85% NA NA 22/25 88% Exceeds Expectation This outcome compares Program (in-class) with ecampus (online) results
Expected Outcomes and Results 9-12 EO 8 Greater than 80% of students will be satisfied with library resources. Result: 2009 student survey (n=36) indicates 75% satisfaction. Expectation not met. EO 9 Greater than 80% of students will be satisfied with faculty use of technology to enhance teaching. Result: 2009 student survey (n=37) indicates 89% satisfaction. Expectation met. EO 10 Greater than 80% of students will be satisfied with advising. Result: 2009 student survey (n=37) indicates 81% satisfaction. Expectation met. EO 11 Greater than 80% of students will be satisfied with faculty accessibility. Result: 2009 student survey (n=37) indicates 84% satisfaction. Expectation met.
Plans for Further Improvement As a result of a review of the assessment data by the full-time faculty on March 18, 2010: Program Continue using the Political Science Major Field Test as a Student Learning Outcome through fall 2010; ADC to develop and implement a new Student Learning assessment for spring 2011 With POL 3300 as the Political Science Major measure of student research achievement, ADC to provide sample course learning objectives to emphasize research intent and measurement Department chair to investigate alternative student survey process and report back to the ADC by fall semester 2010 for possible implementation in 2011 Department Chair prepare and submit Undergraduate Catalog change proposal to add courses on Southern Politics and Politics of Asia Retain Wilson text for POL 2241 American National Government for academic year 2010-2011; Department Chair to negotiate lower cost alternatives such as loose leaf books and rented books ADC to evaluate alternative textbooks for POL 2241for 2011/2012 academic year Less than 80% of Political Science Majors were satisfied with library resources; Department Chair to work with library staff and submit list of possible upgrades in library services to ADC for review by August 2010
Plans for Further Improvement (cont.) March 18, 2010 Troy Campus Expand internship and fellowship opportunities for Troy campus Political Science Majors To improve communication with in the department, the Chair will schedule more frequent Troy Campus Political Science faculty meetings To increase the vitality of the Troy Campus Political Science Club, two assistant professors will be assigned as faculty representatives The Troy Campus did not reach its goal of 25 Political Science Major graduates; this will be addressed by more rigorous and aggressive tracking of the progress of Political Science Majors by department administrative personnel and faculty advisors; this will include a twice annual report to the Department Chair The Troy Campus did not achieve its goal of 4 students receiving overseas learning experience; a summer study abroad program was scheduled for summer 2010 at the University of Padova, Italy but too few students signed up to be conducted; advertising and request for University funding for the planned 2011 Italy program will begin early in the fall 2010 semester to give students more time to gather funds for the trip The Troy Campus did not achieve its goal of 5 students participating in internship opportunities; campus faculty and administrative personnel will inform students of internship opportunities and investigate possible supplemental funding sources to limit student expenses during internships
Plans for Further Improvement (cont.) March 18, 2010 Montgomery Campus Begin routine training to maintain quality among adjunct instructors; hire new adjuncts as necessary Plan and execute a political simulation hybrid class Conduct student field trip to Washington DC The Montgomery Campus did not reach its goal of 15 Political Science Major graduates; this will be addressed by more rigorous and aggressive tracking of the progress of Political Science Majors by department administrative personnel and faculty advisors; a twice annual report will be provided to the campus Political Science instructor The Montgomery Campus did not achieve its goal of 2 students receiving overseas learning experience; a summer study abroad program was scheduled for summer 2010 at the University of Padova, Italy, sponsored by the Troy Campus, but too few students signed up to be conducted; advertising and request for University funding for the planned 2011 program will begin early in fall 2010 semester to give students more time to gather funds for the trip The Montgomery Campus did not achieve its goal of 2 students participating in internship opportunities; campus faculty and administrative personnel will inform students of internship opportunities and investigate possible funding sources to limit student expenses during internships; faculty to investigate both Montgomery and Washington, DC internship opportunities
Plans for Further Improvement (cont.) March 18, 2010 ecampus ADC to review teaching credentials of ecampus Political Science instructors to ensure they are assigned at the proper level of course difficulty ecampus did not meet its goal of 50% of courses taught by full-time faculty; Department Chair and ecampus administrative personnel will continue to monitor teaching assignments and work to increase the percentage; full-time MPA instructors have been invited to teach ecampus undergraduate Political Science courses and will be so-assigned depending on course certification; the pending hire of four full-time Master of International Relations instructors (one a replacement) will provide additional Political Science resources, but the management of instructor assets to reach 50% full-time instructors at all sites and campuses will require difficult tradeoffs in the coming years