Direct Measures
A developmental evaluation of student writing as per the WI/CD Committee’s recommendation will be implemented. Utilizing the e-portfolio system available on campus, students will be asked to place their research papers from FSID 150, 340, and 402 in this electronic portfolio. Utilizing a standard rubric, Evaluation of Research Papers, faculty will randomly pull 20% of graduating seniors each Spring and assess their work posted in this portfolio. Analysis of both growth and final skill-level will be completed. Because the first class to complete this process will not have complete work posted until Spring, 09, no assessment will be done Spring, 06. Spring, 07 will pilot the process using 340 and 402 papers from that Senior pool. Spring, 08 will repeat that 2 paper review and Spring, 09 will begin the 3 paper review process.
Faculty will view the original presentation of student group work in FSID 402, Selected Readings in Family Studies, during Spring, 2006 and a rubric, Evaluation of Research Presentations, will be used by both the instructor and two other faculty members. The two closest scores will be averaged and reported.
All students must participate in an internship. The internship consists of 120 clock hours under direct supervision of a practicing professional. The supervisor completes an evaluation of the intern at the conclusion of the internship.
External Field Experience sponsors evaluate all students in the Family Studies Program at the completion of the 80 hr. field experience. Length of Internships vary with programs and student interest. The minimum length common to all programs is 120 hrs. or three credits. Internships are processed through an Internship Coordinator the department shares with another department. The internship form is a shared and newly revised instrument.
Assessment of the Assessment Process
Faculty will annually assess the relevance and reliability of existing assessment measures to determine whether the assessment process accurately measures student outcomes and whether the measurements contribute to the specific skills, attitudes, knowledge and overall quality and preparedness deemed desirable of graduates.
The data for the assessment of the assessment plan is derived from external feedback from Field Place and Internship sponsors, requirements of external disciplinary accrediting bodies, and ongoing discussion by the department faculty surrounding teaching methods, content and student achievement. Our primary internal questions are:
- Are current measures of student assessment reflective of the competencies we expect our graduates to have?
- Are current methods of assessing students effective, and consistent, within the standards of our disciplines?
- Are there new or modified methods which will better assess what we want to learn about student outcomes?
The department as a whole, and separate programs individually, will decide on assessment activities that will be continued, those that will be modified, those that will be discontinued, and those that should be added. These decisions will be arrived at annually in a spring faculty meeting and revisited for clarification if needed in a first fall faculty meeting.
Previous Plan, Replaced Fall 2005