Peralta Community College District Annual Program Update Template 2014-2015 DISTRICT-WIDE DATA by Subject/Discipline Fall Semesters I. Overview BI Download: Dept. Chair: A Powell Subject/Discipline: POSCI Dean: Campus: Mission Statement Merritt College "... Why am I so interested in politics? If I were to answer you very simply I would say this: why shouldn't I be interested? That is to say, what blindness, what deafness, what density of ideology would have to weigh me down to prevent me from being interested in what is probably the most crucial subject to our existence, that is to say the society in which we live, the economic relations in which it functions, and the system of power which defines the regular forms and regular permissions and prohibitions of our conduct? The essence of our life consists, after all of the political functioning of the society in which we find ourselves." Michel Foucault II. Enrollment Census Enrollment F10 Census Enrollment F11 Census Enrollment F12 Sections F10 Sections F11 Sections F12 Total FTES F10 Total FTES F11 Total FTES F12 Total FTEF F10 Total FTEF F11 Total FTEF F12 FTES/FTEF F10 FTES/FTEF F11 FTES/FTEF F12 Alameda Berkeley Laney Merritt District
III. IV. Student Success Faculty Contract FTEF F10 Contract FTEF F11 Contract FTEF F12 TEMP FTEF F10 TEMP FTEF F11 TEMP FTEF F12 Extra Service FTEF F10 Extra Service FTEF F11 Extra Service FTEF F12 Total FTEF F10 Total FTEF F11 Total FTEF F12 % Contract/Total F10 % Contract/Total F11 % Contract/Total F12 Alameda Berkeley Laney Merritt District Alameda Berkeley Laney Merritt District
V. Qualitative Assessments CTE and Vocational: Community and labor market relevance. Present evidence of community need based on Advisory Committee input, industry need data, McIntyre Environmental Scan, McKinsey Economic Report, licensure and job placement rates, etc. Transfer and Basic Skills: Describe how your course offerings address transfer, basic skills, and program completion. Both, POSCI 1 and POSCI 2, are university transfer courses, and as such basic study skills needed for university success are included in the curricula for these courses. Under basic skills we count: time management; critical thinking that starts with thought processes (opinions and support that is data driven), and academic writing skills all geared for college success. At this moment, Merritt does not have a political Science program.
VI. Course SLOs and Assessment Number of active courses in your discipline 2 Fall 2014 Number with SLOs 2 % SLOs/Active Courses 100 Number of courses with SLOs that have been assessed 2 % Assessed/SLOs 100 Describe types of assessment methods you are using: Oral presentations of country studies (POSCI 2, comparative government) Written country case studies (POSCI 2, comparative government) Semester long weekly journals on how government affects us directly and indirectly (POSCI 1. American Government) Multiple choice quizzes/exams (POSCI 1 and 2) Describe results of your SLO assessment progress 82C% of the students who were assessed at the end of the semester fulfilled the expectations: they mastered the materials at an acceptable A or B level. 3 % mastered the materials at a C level. 15 % either withdraw from the course or failed to master the materials at an acceptable level. (D level) Describe how assessment results and reflection on those results have led to improvements. By giving clearer directions, using a more simple rubric, break assessment down in to parts that can be done over time and thus may create improvement (weekly journals may be not so sophisticated; however, later ones, after more feedback, turn out to be more academic. The same goes for online Forums discussions: They are at the minimalist level at the beginning of the semester, but at the end they are much improved. This demonstrates a positive the learning curve. Still, there is unwillingness to learning when it comes to political science, a field of study that hardly any student in my classes chose as his/her field of study. The political science courses are seen too much as courses that need to be taken for transfer and not for knowledge gathering. In this area, faculty needs to improve; finding methods to draw these students in and make them more successful. Counselors and administration can play a contributing role in this process.
VII. Program Learning Outcomes and Assessment Number of degrees and certificates in your discipline 0 Fall 2014 Number with Program Learning Outcomes Number assessed % Assessed Describe assessment methods you are using Describe results of assessment. Describe how assessment of program-level student learning outcomes led to certificate/degree program improvements. VIII. Strategic Planning Goals Check all that apply. X Advance Student Access, Success & Equity X Engage our Communities & Partners X Build Programs of Distinction X Create a Culture of Innovation & Collaboration X Develop Resources to Advance & Sustain Mission Describe how goal applies to your program. Perhaps a political science program at Merritt College would promote interest and motivation for students as well as faculty If there were a POSCI program, we could easier be involved in the political process of our community and create alliances with differnet programs The goal is for students to participate in a sound wayin the political processes at the local, state and national level!
IX. College Strategic Plan Relevance Check all that apply New program under development Program that is integral to your college s overall strategy Program that is essential for transfer Program that serves a community niche Programs where student enrollment or success has been demonstrably affected by extraordinary external factors, such as barriers due to housing, employment, childcare etc. Other X. Action Plan Please describe your plan for responding to the above data (quantitative, qualitative, and data specifically from course and program learning outcomes assessment). Consider curriculum, pedagogy/instructional, scheduling, and marketing strategies. Also, please reference any cross district collaboration with the same discipline at other Peralta colleges. Include overall plans/goals and specific action steps. 1. We are starting to discuss the formation of a political science degree program. 2. We have started to teach political science online classes and will assess the success of these at the end of the semester. 3. Next semester both political science classes will be involved in our Food Matters across the curriculum learning 4. Interest in collaboration with other faculty (English-Political Science) is forming
XI. Needs Please describe and prioritize any faculty, classified, and student assistant needs. As we are discussing a political science program at Merritt College, we need to assess the need for more faculty, administrative help, and student assistant needs. Please describe and prioritize any equipment, material, and supply needs. With our smart classrooms and small office supplies budget we are currently set. Now that we also teach political science online, we could benefit from more Moodle tech support on campus Please describe and prioritize any facility s needs. Elongated classroom in from the front to the back are not conducive to participation by all students. The class rooms are narrow and deep/long: Too many students who are in the back are not as involved as they should be even though faculty walks around. The focus is the screen, desk, white board all in the front of the class! According to educational psychology, an optimal physical setting is conducive to learning.