Submitted Fall, 2003
Based on the 2002-03 assessment results, the existing learning goals, objectives, and measurement tools successfully serve the department's needs. One benchmark criterion for the graduate survey assessment will be modified for the 2003-04 assessment. Currently, the benchmark regarding job/school placement is as follows:
- At least 75% of chemistry graduates who choose to pursue a chemistry-related profession will acquire employment with the company of their choice or gain admission to the graduate or professional school of their choice
It turns out that 100% of this year's survey respondents gained employment or admission in the job/school field of their choice - the survey indicated 83%, but the 7th and last respondent student secured employment a few weeks after the survey - if not with their preferred company/school. Because so many individual factors not related to curriculum delivery (such as appropriateness of student expectations, job market conditions, specific company/school standards) can significantly contribute to probability of a student gaining employment/admission with/to the specific company or school of their choice, the department will modify the above criterion as follows:
- At least 75% of chemistry graduates who choose to pursue a chemistry-related profession will acquire employment with a company or gain admission to a graduate or professional school in the field of their choice
Because introductory chemistry classes (CHEM 145 - Introductory Chemistry and CHEM 150 - Intro to Organic & Biochemistry) do not use standardized exams, academic achievement in these courses were not adequately assessed.
Local final exams will be used for this assessment measurement. CHEM 145 and 150 instructors will divide their final exam questions into sections corresponding to material covered in the course. The instructors will report the number of students taking the exam and average score on each section. While individual exam questions may vary slightly from year-to-year, the types of exam sections and relative weighting will remain consistent.
Benchmark criterion for successful achievement - The average score on each exam section for each course will be no lower than 70%.
If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the format and delivery of the course will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.
The current assessment plan does not evaluate student writing skills, a critical component in an undergraduate chemistry education. To emphasize the importance of this, an additional learning objective will be incorporated into department learning goal #2:
Learning Objective -- Chemistry graduates will demonstrate the ability to relay proper understanding and application of chemistry principles through written reports.
Portfolios will be used for this assessment measurement. Files will be established for all declared chemistry majors. From each applicable chemistry course, two samples of writing will be placed in each student's file. Prior to graduation, each student's materials will be evaluated for improvement in organization, clarity, effectiveness of illustrations (when applicable), and understanding and application of chemistry principles.
Benchmark criterion for successful achievement - Each year, faculty evaluation of portfolios for graduating seniors will reveal at least a 90% rate of satisfactory improvement.
If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the writing components of the chemistry curriculum will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.
This goal currently focuses on the value that graduates place on their chemistry course areas. However, value perceptions of General Studies students are particularly important, given the broader scope of student backgrounds and expectations. An additional learning objective will be incorporated into department learning goal #4:
Learning Objective -- Chemistry students in General Studies courses will value the learning of their chemistry course content for the understanding of chemistry as a scientific discipline and enabling them to make more informed decisions on public issues of a scientific nature.
Surveys will be used for this assessment measurement. Questions will be derived from the Chemistry Department graduate survey and the UNK General Studies objectives. This short survey will be administered in every Chemistry General Studies course (CHEM 145, 150, 160, 161) along with the teaching evaluation.
Students will be asked to respond to the following statements: "This course enhanced my ability to . . ."
- Use critical thinking, reasoning, and analyzing in solving problems.
- Apply scientific methodology in a laboratory setting.
- Comprehend how scientific concepts originate and are validated and refined.
- Use specialized vocabulary to understand matter and energy.
- Make more informed decisions about public issues pertaining to science.
Responses will be rated 1 through 5 according to the following scale:
- 1 = strongly disagree
- 2 = disagree
- 3 = neither agree nor disagree
- 4 = agree
- 5 = strongly agree
Benchmark criterion for successful achievement - Each year for each General Studies course, the average survey response for each question will be no lower than 3.5.
If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the General Studies course format and delivery will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.
The current assessment plan does not evaluate student laboratory skills, a critical component of a chemists function and an undergraduate chemistry education. Because research projects most thoroughly integrate principles and skills learned in individual chemistry courses, an evaluation of student research will be used to assess student laboratory skills. An new department learning goal and learning objective will be added to the assessment plan:
Department Learning Goal #5 - Chemistry students will have developed the ability to use proper scientific methodology and laboratory technique in the investigation of chemical principles through experiment.
Learning Objective -- Students will demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate and solve problems through the application of appropriate laboratory principles.
Two measurement tools will be used for assessment pertaining to this learning objective:
National exams will be used for this assessment measurement. Laboratory questions are a part of the ACS standardized exams given in General Chemistry courses (CHEM 160, 161).
Benchmark criterion for successful achievement - Each year, the average laboratory question section score will correspond to the national exam average or better (56% correct on the latest CHEM160 exam and 50% correct on the latest CHEM 161 exam)
If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the General Chemistry laboratory format and delivery will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.
Projects will be used to directly evaluate General Chemistry student (CHEM 160, 161) laboratory skills. As proper technique directly relates to the quality of experiment results, the results from one quantitative analysis experiment in each course will be assessed.
Benchmark criterion for successful achievement - The best student results in each experiment will lie within the relative error associated with the primary measurement error source. The average student results will deviate from the accepted results by no more than three times the relative error associated with the primary measurement error source. The desired proficiency from the entire student group assessed is that 90% of the experiment results will lie within three standard deviations of the average student results.
If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the General Chemistry laboratory format and delivery will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.