University of Nebraska Kearney

Political Science Assessment Report 2006

Submitted Fall, 2006

UNK Department of Political Science
2005-06 Assessment Report

LEARNING OBJECTIVES BEING ASSESSED

1. Students will be fluent in the methods and approaches to inquiry in the discipline. 
2. Students will develop subject mastery across the subfields of the discipline. 
3. Students will develop appropriate writing, communication, critical, and analytical skills linked to subject mastery. 
4. Students will gain practical experience linking course-work to applied settings. 
5. Students will exhibit skill-sets and knowledge appropriate for successful entry into and completion of law school. 
6. Students will exhibit skill-sets and knowledge appropriate for successful entry into and graduation from graduate school. 
7. Students will exhibit skill-sets and knowledge appropriate for successful career placement.

DESCRIPTION OF MEASURES USED TO ASSESS

1. Students’ competency with methods and approaches to inquiry in Political Science was measured using graded writing assignments in PSCI 381: Introduction to Political Inquiry.
2. Students’ mastery of the subject matter in the subfields of Political Science was measured using performance on the comprehensive examination in PSCI 489: Senior Seminar.
3. Students’ writing and critical thinking/analytical skills were measured using performance on the senior essay, required of all majors in the PSCI 489: Senior Seminar, and results from the Alumni Survey administered in January 2006. (Alumni Survey had 33% response rate.)
4. Opportunities for practical experience linking course work to applied settings were assessed by collecting data on the number of successfully completed internships and the number of successfully completed independent or collaborative research projects, as well as participation in the Model United Nations and results of the Alumni Survey.
5. Preparation for law school was assessed by the results of the Alumni Survey as well as self-reporting of graduates of the program who were admitted to law schools.
6. Preparation for graduate school was assessed by the results of the Alumni Survey as well as self-reporting of graduates of the program who were admitted to graduate programs in Political Science, Public Administration, or related fields.
7. Preparation for careers was assessed by the results of the Alumni Survey.

REPORTING OF DATA COLLECTED

1. All results for assignments in PSCI 381 are medians, reported based on a 5-point scale.
   
   

   METHODS SKILL	SP04 (n=3)	FA04 (n=30)	FA05 (n=24)
   Formulate questions	4.67	5.00	5.00
   Review literature	N/A	4.20	4.35
   Develop hypotheses	4.67	4.50	4.22
   Evaluate research designs	4.25	4.50	4.20
   Operationalize concepts	4.33	4.25	4.20
   Gather data	4.83	4.25	N/A
   Work with data in SPSS	4.71	4.94	4.75
   Evaluate research results	4.33	4.50	4.40

    
2. The median score on the comprehensive exam, in which four essays covering questions in different subfields of Political Science were required, was 44 out of 50 (n=17).
    
3. The median score on the senior essay, which required a thorough literature review of a research question in the field of Political Science, was 45 out of 50 (n=17).
   
   In the 2006 Alumni Survey, 98% of respondents said the program was “very effective” or “effective” in improving their writing skills; 92% said the program was “very effective” or “effective” in improving their oral communication skills; and 98% said the program was “very effective” or “effective” in improving their critical thinking skills.
    
4. Five students attended the Model UN Conference in Montreal in Spring 2006.
   
   In the 2006 Alumni Survey, 61% of respondents reported completing an internship as part of their degree program, and of those respondents, 88% said their internship experience was “important” or “somewhat important” to their education.
   
   Internship Results:
   

   STUDENT	INTERNSHIP	LOCATION	TERM
   1	Nebraska Republican Party	Kearney	SP06
   2*	Kleeb for Congress campaign	Kearney	SP06
   3*	Office of Sen. Chuck Hagel	Kearney	SU06
   4	Buffalo Co. Community Partners	Kearney	SP06
   5	Ricketts for Senate campaign	Kearney	SP06
   6*	Office of Sen. Chuck Hagel	DC	SP06
   7	Jacobson, Orr, … law firm	Kearney	SU06
   8*	Office of Sen. Chuck Hagel	Kearney	SU05
   9*	Office of Sen. Chuck Hagel	Kearney	FA05
   10	Office of Sen. Chuck Hagel	Kearney	SP06
   11*	Kleeb for Congress campaign	Kearney	SP06
   12*	Kleeb for Congress campaign	Kearney	SP06

   *The average evaluation score for these interns by their site supervisors was 9.7 out of 10.
   
   Independent Research Results:
   

   STUDENT	MENTOR	RESULTS OF RESEARCH
   13	Aviles	Paper presented at Great Plains Political Science Association annual meeting
   14	Aviles	Paper presented at NCUR 2006
   15	Anderson	Paper presented at NCUR 2006
   16	Blauwkamp	Research apprenticeship award, worked with Zach Nelson on project described below
   17	Blauwkamp	SSRP award; Paper presented at SSRP Symposium
   18	Louishomme	Paper presented at NCUR 2006
   19	Aviles	Paper presented at Western Political Science Association meeting
   20	Blauwkamp	Paper presented at Great Plains Political Science Association meeting
   10	Louishomme	Paper presented at NCUR 2006

   
    
5. &
6. In the 2006 Alumni Survey, 95% of respondents who pursued advanced degrees said the program was “very effective” or “effective” in preparing them for graduate study.
   
   Admission to Law or Graduate School Results:
   

   STUDENT	INSTITUTION	PROGRAM
   21	Iowa State Univ.	MA
   22	Univ. of NE-Omaha	MPA
   23	Indiana State Univ.	PhD in IR
   24	Univ of NE-Lincoln	PhD in Soc.
   8	Univ of NE-Lincoln	Law
   10	Loyola Univ.-Chicago	PhD
   25	Florida State Univ.	Law
   26	Univ. of IL-Chicago	PhD

   
    
7. In the 2006 Alumni Survey, 81% of respondents said that the program was “very effective” or “effective” in preparing them for employment.

INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Overall, the Department of Political Science thought that the assessment data reflected positively on our program, while also suggesting areas in which improvements can be made.

1. The scores for methods skills vary somewhat from term to term depending on the mix of students enrolled, but they indicate that generally students gain the abilities to understand and conduct research in the social sciences from their work in the course. 
2. The Department implemented a comprehensive curriculum review and revision, which went into effect for Catalog 2004-2006. We revised program requirements for BA and BS degrees to require that majors complete at least one course each in four of five subfields; this change was a response to the faculty’s perceptions that majors were becoming too narrowly specialized in their coursework for an undergraduate degree program. The comprehensive exam in Fall 2005 was expanded from two to four required essays to test students’ breadth of familiarity with subject matter across the subfields. The students performed well, which we interpret as evidence that our program change is working to reduce the number of students who study too narrowly within the discipline. 
3. Both the current students’ performances in their senior essay writing and the results of Alumni Survey illustrate the Department’s strengths in helping students to develop their communication and critical thinking skills.
4. Numerous students were able to take advantage of one or more experiential learning opportunities throughout the year. The interns whose site supervisors returned evaluation forms were very highly evaluated, and the Alumni Survey suggests that most students find their internship experiences of value.
5. &
6. This year, many fewer students applied to law school than is usual for graduates of our Department, but there were slightly more students who sought and gained acceptance to graduate school. All students who applied to law and/or graduate school were accepted to at least one program, and, in addition, most were accepted to high quality and prestigious institutions. 
7. The results of the Alumni Survey suggest that the Department could improve in its efforts to prepare students for employment. One of the Department’s strengths in career preparation is our internship program; many of our interns parlayed their internship experiences into additional work. Clara Blankenbiller now works for the state Democratic Party; Liz Weaver was hired to be finance director to Scott Kleeb’s campaign; Jonathan Crouch was asked to continue casework in Hagel’s office after his internship ended, and Mary Jacobson became a staffer in the Rickett’s campaign after her graduation last spring.

ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BASED ON DATA

1. No changes to the PSCI 381: Introduction to Political Inquiry course are deemed necessary at this time.
2. The Department will continue its program requirement that students take at least one course from four of the five subfields, as the changes seems to be working to reduce narrow knowledge of the discipline. 
3. No changes are deemed necessary at this time.
4. The Department will continue to encourage students to apply for internships and to present their independent research at NCUR or regional professional conferences, seek internship placements for interested students, seek funding to defray internship expenses, and advise the Model UN club. Numerous students also took advantage of other experiential learning opportunities that the Department facilitates: Community for Active Citizenship, leadership positions in student government and campus organizations, field study courses, etc.
5. &
6. The Department will continue to advise pre-law students and graduate-school-bound students in preparation for the LSAT/GRE, independent research opportunities, the application process, etc. 
7. The Department has decided that we need to be more consistent in providing students with insights into career opportunities for Political Science majors. Our PSCI WEEK held September 17-22, 2006 included a forum on applying to graduate school in Political Science with the Director of Graduate Study at UNL and a forum on career opportunities that featured four alumni of our program who talked about their career paths. Student response to these events was favorable, and we plan to make them a regular part of PSCI WEEK events.

EVALUATION OF THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS

The assessment process, in general, has worked fairly well within the Department. A more routine centralization of reporting about internships being supervised and the like would make the report writing easier. The Assessment Plan posted on the website also gets outdated rather quickly as, for example, each instructor of the Senior Seminar collects indicators of student performance a bit differently from the previous instructor, because the specific requirements for assignments change, even though the general objectives for the course do not. Some of the measures listed in the assessment plan are not currently in use. The Department has discussed but not yet implemented portfolio development as an additional tactic for assessing subject and skill mastery. We have also discussed but not yet implemented a requirement that all students enrolled in Senior Seminar be required to present the results of their senior essay research in some oral presentation, whether NCUR, a regional professional conference, or Student Research Day. Also, the Senior Exit Surveys from last fall’s Senior Seminar course were misplaced. 

ACTIONS TAKEN TO IMPROVE THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS

The Department decided to create a standard form for reporting student internships, independent research, and other independent student work supervised or mentored each term, so that the assessment reports can be completed more easily and maximize accuracy. The Department also set aside centralized storage for deposit of assessment-related data as it is collected, so that items are less likely to be misplaced.