Campus Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes

School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Only one program in SPEA has formalized an assessment plan – political science.  The learning goals identified are: understanding structures of American government and citizenship responsibilities, familiarity with a spectrum of political thought, written and oral communications skills, ability to use conceptual tools for analysis, and (for majors only) exposure to three subfields of political science. Evaluation of learning goal success by a faculty panel based on two senior-level papers as a direct measure and, as an indirect measure, a student survey administered in the senior seminar. Evaluation will take place every semester as a part of the senior seminar. Political Science faculty will report results to the Undergraduate Program Committee on an annual basis.

The balance of the SPEA programs have begun the process of developing assessment plans for individual programs. Criminal Justice faculty made a good start with the following ideas: that each J101 (intro) course include a set of deliverables, that students in J101 be given a program entry survey to establish a baseline and, in J439, be given an exit assessment. Again, reporting would be on an annual basis to identify trends in entry ability and in learning.

The Undergraduate Program Committee has been reactivated primarily to oversee this assessment process as well as program change and development. The model developed by Political Science will be the basis for all undergraduate assessment activities.

We have also done preliminary meetings with the School of Business and Economics Assessment Center. The Center is engaged in adapting their assessment techniques to apply to criminal justice majors.

The graduate program (MPA) in the School underwent a system-wide change regarding assessment on learning. A set of competencies was identified as learning goals for all SPEA graduate students (see attached). Formal reporting of assessment on this model has yet to be established beyond the students’ successful completion of the core courses. The Graduate Program Committee is tasked with development of a formal assessment system.

Data collection will take place on a semester basis, depending on the schedule of courses. Analysis and reporting will take place annually and the appropriate committee will report formally to the faculty as a whole on an annual basis. Recommendations for change based on the analysis, an important component of that report, will be acted on by the faculty as a whole.