University of Nebraska Kearney

General Studies Program Assessment Plan: Natural Sciences: Chemistry

UNK Department of Chemistry Assessment Mission Statement

(All quotations are from the University of Nebraska at Kearney Mission Statement)

Through the Department's degree programs, students will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in pursuing the following education and career paths:

• Professional chemist in private or government industrial and commercial facilities
• Graduate school in chemistry and related fields
• Professional school in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, and other allied health fields
• Secondary school chemistry teaching

Through their undergraduate chemistry education, students will have the ability to make more informed assessments of and take actions on chemistry-related health and environmental issues.

This exemplifies the institutional commitment to "graduate persons who . . . are prepared for productive careers, further education, and responsible citizenship."

The Department recognizes that student-outcomes assessment is essential for the continuing efforts to improve our undergraduate education programs. The following Department Learning Goals are indicative of our mission's degree of success and will be assessed as part of our Department Assessment Plan:

1. Upon completing a course required for a Chemistry degree, students will have developed the ability to critically evaluate and solve problems through the application of appropriate chemistry principles. 
2. Chemistry graduates will be able to coherently organize and present chemical information through written and oral presentation. 
3. Chemistry graduates will have the necessary skills and knowledge to acquire entry-level positions in the field (including industry and high school teaching) or for admission to their graduate or professional schools of choice. 
4. Chemistry graduates will value how their education enables them to make more informed assessments of and take actions on chemistry-related health and environmental issues. 
5. Chemistry students will have developed the ability to use proper scientific methodology and laboratory technique in the investigation of chemical principles through experiment. 

 
UNK Department of Chemistry General Studies Assessment Plan

The UNK Department of Chemistry has established specific learning objectives pertaining to each of the three department learning goals described in the Assessment Mission Statement. While it would be possible to align each of these goals to those specific to the General Studies program, the Department has modified its assessment plan to match the three Natural Science Category objectives outlined in the General Studies assessment program. This document outlines assessment components that measure each of the objectives of the General Studies program.

General Studies Overall ObjectivesAs part of a general studies education at UNK, students at graduation will have…

1. The ability to located and gather information
2. The capability for critical thinking, reasoning, and analyzing
3. Effective communication skills including the ability to read, speak and write effectively, using the materials, ideas, and discourse modes of the specific academic areas
4. An understanding of the experiences and values of groups and cultures which have been historically under-represented.

In addition to the overall objectives for students in the General Studies program, those students taking a General Studies course within the Chemistry Department will meet the following objectives. These objectives will be measured by the Chemistry Department using both direct and indirect means as indicated below.

Natural Science Category Objectives
As part of a general studies education within a natural science at UNK, students at graduation will be able to…

1. Demonstrate the ability to apply the logical structure of scientific methodology in the laboratory setting
2. Demonstrate the ability to comprehend how scientific concepts originate, are validated, and are refined
3. Demonstrate the ability to use the specialized vocabulary needed to understand matter and energy

Department of Chemistry General Studies program:
Every Chemistry GS course will be assessed every time that course is offered. Every general studies lecture course in the Department will be assessed for objectives #2 and #3 in the natural sciences category of the GS program. Laboratory courses will only be assessed for measure #1. Moreover, every student in each of the GS courses will be assessed when the course is assessed.

Natural Science Objective #1 - Demonstrate the ability to apply the logical structure of scientific methodology in the laboratory setting. 

Courses to be assessed: CHEM 145, CHEM 150, CHEM 160L and CHEM 161L

Two measurement tools will be used for assessment pertaining to this learning objective:

Direct measure category 1. a. i. – 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 (typically 50% correct on the examinations.)

If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the General Chemistry laboratory format and delivery will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.

Direct measure category 1. b. xiii. – laboratory final exams – will be used to directly evaluate chemistry student laboratory skills. As proper technique directly relates to the quality of experiment results, the results from the laboratory practical exams will be used in this assessment.

Benchmark criterion for successful achievement – Laboratory final exams (practical exams) will be used to directly evaluate General Chemistry student (CHEM 145, CHEM 160L, 161L) laboratory skills. As proper technique directly relates to the quality of experiment results, the results from the practical portion of the laboratory final in each course will be assessed. The average laboratory practical exam score will correspond to 70% of the total points available on the examination.

If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the General Chemistry laboratory format and delivery will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.

Natural Science Objective #2 - Demonstrate the ability to comprehend how scientific concepts originate, are validated, and are refined. 

Courses to be assessed: CHEM 145, CHEM 150, CHEM 160, CHEM 161, and CHEM 280H
Two measurement tools will be used for assessment pertaining to this learning objective.

Indirect measure 2. iii. – surveys – will be used for this assessment measurement. Questions relating to the General Studies’ and the Department’s objectives will be distributed in surveys given at the end of each semester. The questions dealing explicitly with the scientific method (see below) will be assessed.

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 survey instrument is reproduced here:

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

If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the particular lecture format and delivery will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.

Direct measure 1. a. i. and 1. a. ii. – national and local examinations – will be used for this measurement. The ACS standardized examination (CHEM 160 and CHEM 161) and local final examinations (CHEM 145, CHEM 150, and CHEM 280H) typically contain questions dealing with the scientific method.

Benchmark criterion for successful achievement – Each year, those questions that pertain to the scientific method will be identified and assessed. The average score will correspond to the national exam average or better for those specific questions (typically 50% correct on the examinations.) For the local final exams, the average score for those questions that deal with the scientific method will correspond to at least 75% correct.

If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the particular lecture format and delivery will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.

Natural Science Objective #3 - Demonstrate the ability to use the specialized vocabulary needed to understand matter and energy. 

Indirect measure 2. iii. – surveys – will be used for this assessment measurement. Questions relating to the General Studies’ and the Department’s objectives will be distributed in surveys given at the end of each semester. The question dealing explicitly with the use of vocabulary to understand matter and energy (see below) will be assessed.

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 survey instrument is reproduced here:

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

If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the particular lecture format and delivery will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.

Direct measure 1. a. i. and 1. a. ii. – national and local examinations – will be used for this measurement. The ACS standardized examination (CHEM 160 and CHEM 161) and local final examinations (CHEM 145, CHEM 150, and CHEM 280H) typically contain questions dealing with matter and energy.

Benchmark criterion for successful achievement – Each year, those questions that pertain to the use of vocabulary to understand matter and energy will be identified and assessed. The average score will correspond to the national exam average or better for those specific questions (typically 50% correct on the examinations.) For the local final exams, the average score for those questions that deal with the scientific method will correspond to at least 75% correct.

If this benchmark is not met in three successive years, the particular lecture format and delivery will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.

Survey Evaluators 

Annually, all UNK Department of Chemistry faculty will evaluate the results of the GS assessment. At each 5-year academic program review, an external reviewer (chair of the review team) will evaluate these results and their assessment by the department.

Standardized Exam Evaluation 

Each course instructor will administer the appropriate ACS standardized exam as the course final exam. CHEM 145, CHEM 150 and CHEM 280H currently do not have standardized examinations. In these cases the final exam will be consulted for evaluation (see below). The instructor will grade each student’s exam, reporting the number of questions answered correctly along with the corresponding national percentile score provided by the ACS and based on score reports from colleges and universities nationwide, and turn this information in to the department chair, who will compile basic statistical information (high, low, average, median, and standard deviation) for each course. Instructors will store individual student answer sheet in case further evaluation is needed (see special cases below).

Benchmark criterion for successful achievement – Student exam scores on the questions identified as pertaining to GS objectives will average at or above the 50th percentile (the national average) for those questions.

In the evaluation by the department faculty as a whole, particular attention will be given to the following cases:

Courses in which ACS exam scores fail to achieve the benchmark in three successive years. The department faculty may require that further statistical analysis of exam results be performed in order to determine appropriate modifications in course format, content, and/or content emphasis. This additional information may include (but is not limited to) the percentages of students scoring above the 75th national percentile and below the 25th national percentile, statistically valid trending of high, low, average, and median exam scores, and a correlation of exam question topics with course topics and subsequent compilation of student exam performance in each topic area. The department chair will coordinate any further exam analyses with assistance from course instructors as needed.

Courses in which ACS exam scores exceed the benchmark in three successive years. In such cases, the department faculty will examine the appropriateness of raising the benchmark score for the specific ACS exam involved. Additional statistical analyses of exam scores may be performed and include (but is not limited to) any statistically valid trending of high, low, average, and median exam scores and the percentages of students scoring above the 75th national percentile and below the 25th national percentile, statistically valid trending of high, low, average, and median exam scores.

Local Final Exams (CHEM 145, CHEM 150, and CHEM 280H) 

Each course instructor will administer the appropriate course final exam. The instructor will grade each student’s exam, reporting the percentage of questions answered correctly in each content section.

All local exams offered in department courses where an ACS standardized exam does not exist are not standardized from semester to semester. Instead, each question on the local exams is allocated into specific categories that are the same from year to year. These categories include key topics of importance in each of the courses. Some of the questions on the local exams are also assigned to the Natural Science Objectives of the General Studies plan (laboratory skills, the scientific method, and specialized vocabulary). Thus, each semester, the exam questions are assigned to their appropriate category. Student responses to those questions are then compared semester to semester.

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.

Need for updated General Studies Natural Science Objectives – The three currently identified objectives in the natural sciences section of the General Studies Objectives are difficult to assess, and do not accurately reflect the Department’s objectives (see Appendix). The Department’s objectives for these entry level courses conform to the American Chemical Society’s guidelines as indicated by the Committee on Professional Training (CPT). While the specific objectives of the GS program are reflected in the Department’s objectives, they fall short of reflecting the true goal of the Department.

The difficulty in assessing the GS Natural Sciences objectives arises from the fact that these particular objectives are only a minor subset of the more important goals in these courses. Students that are only able to demonstrate the ability to use scientific vocabulary and are only able to understand the scientific method (the two objectives that need specific attention) will most assuredly fail to obtain a strong background in the physical sciences.

Therefore, the Department will seek to work with the General Studies program to generate a set of objectives that are a.) easily assessable; b.) specific to the particular departments categorized in the Natural Sciences field; and c.) accurately reflect the goals of courses that seek to educate the general population on issues surrounding science.

2007 

Previous Plan, Replaced Fall 2007