SJSU Annual Program Assessment Form
Biological Sciences Department
Academic Year 2013-2014
Electronic copy of report is due June 1, 2014. Send to Undergraduate Studies
(academicassessment@sjsu.edu), with cc: to your college’s Associate Dean and college Assessment
Facilitator. List of AFs is found at http://www.sjsu.edu/ugs/faculty/programs/committee/index.html>
Department: Biological Sciences
Program: undergraduate BA/BS
College: Science
Website: http://www.sjsu.edu/biology/
Program Accreditation (if any):
Contact Person and Email: Dr. Michael Sneary, michael.sneary@sjsu.edu
Date of Report: May 20, 2014
Part A
1. List of Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
PLO#1. Students will demonstrate the ability to formulate hypothesis and design experiments
to address a scientific question.
PLO#2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of relevant content in their discipline.
PLO#3. Students will demonstrate laboratory or field skills in their discipline.
PLO#4. Students will demonstrate proficiency in scientific writing skills.
PLO#5. Students will demonstrate proficiency in oral presentation skills.
PLO#6. Students will demonstrate the ability to work effectively in groups.
PLO#7. Students will demonstrate the ability to perform literature searches using relevant tools.
PLOs are utilized to assess competency in the BA and all BS degrees as well as MA and MS
degrees
2. Map of PLOs to University Learning Goals (ULGs)
This map was generated during the department’s recent 5 year program planning process. Discussions
concerning all aspects of the plan including the relationship of the department’s PLOs and the
University’s ULGs were conducted during a series of meetings and retreats during the Spring of 2013 and
the Fall of 2013.
3.
Alignment – Matrix of PLOs to Courses
Table1: Matrix of PLOs to Courses
Courses where
PLO will be
assessed
Undergraduate
Courses
BIOL 1A (I)
BIOL 1B (Re)
BIOL 115 (Re)
BIOL 100W (A)
BIOL 155/156
BIOL 125 (A)
BIOL 116 (A)
BIOL 135L (A)
BIOL 135B (A)
MICR 141 (A)
MICR 141L (A)
Graduate Courses
BIOL 201
BIOL 202
BIOL 205
BIOL 227
BIOL 255L
BIOL 256
BIOL 280
BIOL 299
Program-Learning Objectives, semester of assessment, and
assessment level
PLO1
F/S
F/S
F/S
PLO2
F/S
F/S
F/S
PLO3
F/S
F/S
PLO4
F/S
F/S
PLO5
F/S
F/S
F/S
PLO6
F/S
F/S
F/S
PLO7
F/S
F/S
F/S
F
F
S
F
F
S
S
S
F/S
F/S
F
F
F/S
F
F
S
S
F
S
F
F/S
F/S
F/S
F
F/S
F/S
F/S
F/S
F/S
F
F
F/S
F/S
F/S
F
F/S
F/S
F/S
F/S
F
F/S
F/S
F/S
F/S
I: Introductory Re: Reinforced A: Advanced
F: Fall S: Spring
F/S
F/S
4. Planning – Assessment Schedule
This is shown on Table 1.
5. Student Experience
Students were not involved in the formulation of our PLOs. PLOs are indicated in the courses syllabi.
Part B
6. Graduation Rates for Total, Non URM and URM students (per program and degree)
Our highest 6th year graduation rate for total students was 48.1% (Fall 2007), followed by 48.6% (Fall
2007). This rate is lower for URM students. The highest graduation rate was 40% (Fall 2004). For
non-URM students the highest graduation rate was 60% (Fall 2007). Currently, our Department is
meeting the 2015 graduation targets for non-URM students (53.2%). However, our Department is
not meeting the 2015 university targets of 51.6% and 47.8%, for total and URM students,
respectively.
7. Headcounts of program majors and new students (per program and degree)
The number of Biology courses between AYs 2006-2007 to 2012-2013 has fluctuated slightly
between 87 and 91. However the number of sections has almost doubled in the same time period
(131 in AY 2006-2007 vs. 251 in AY 2012-2013).
The average section size between the AYs 2006-2007 to 2012-2013 in the Department has
fluctuated between 27 and 26.4 for all sections. This is similar to the College of Science average, but
higher than the University average of 24-25. We have the highest number of students per lecture
section at the University with an average of 74.3 (2006-2013). The College of Science and University
averages for the same time period are 53.8 and 40.4, respectively.
8. SFR and average section size (per program)
In the last five years the Department has consistently the highest or second highest SFRs in the
College of Science. The 5-year average SFR for our department is 27.08 (for majors only) and 25.06
(for all courses).
9. Percentage of tenured/tenure-track instructional faculty (per department)
Currently, there are 19 T/TT faculty and 30 temporary faculty. However, one of the tenured faculty
members is the MBT Program Director and 100% of her time is committed to MBT. Another tenured
faculty is the Department Chair and only teaches 0.2. Thus, the number of T/TT faculty is only 17.2.
The current ratio between T/TT and temporary faculty is 36% to 64%, respectively. This is an
alarming trend and it does not bode well for the health of the Department with the highest number
of majors and FTES in the College of Science.
Part C
10.Closing the Loop/Recommended Actions
From our most recent program plan (Fall 2013):
 Develop an efficient strategy for alumni tracking
o Development and implementation will begin in the Spring 2014 semester. Dr. Soto
will use strategies similar to those developed on his NSF-tracking grant.









Re-establish Department PLO assessment program.
o Assessment instruments have been chosen. Dr. Soto will receive release time to
begin implementation in Spring 2014 semester.
o Data collection and analysis, preparation of assessment reports and departmental
discussions will be carried-on each semester.
Appoint a GE assessment coordinator to aggregate data from small GE courses.
Develop, pilot, and implement an on-line version of our current Biosafety course (BIOL 6)
o Faculty will be identified in the Spring 2014 semester to begin development. The
selected faculty will receive release time to develop and test an on-line version of
BIOL 6. We anticipate the completion of this on-line course to be completed by the
end of the Fall semester 2014 and to be piloted in the Spring 2015. Full
implementation of the chosen strategy will be undertaken beginning in the Fall 2015
semester.
Reconstitute the graduate committee
o The committee will be reconstituted in the Spring 2014 semester.
o Their tasks will include the evaluation of academic programs for each graduate
degree; review and propose courses, and coordinate scheduling. We will expect the
committee to complete the three tasks included here by the Fall 2016 semester.
Delete BIOL 4 and establish a major’s course that meets GE area E.
o Faculty expressed the need for a course that can be used to integrate curriculum,
implement Vision & Change recommendations, and meet GE area E SLOs.
o An Ad-Hoc committee will be constituted next semester. We anticipate the
completion of the proposed course by the Fall 2014 semester and the
implementation by the Fall 2015 semester.
Constitute a Facilities & Equipment Committee
o The committee will be constituted by the Spring 2014 semester.
o Their tasks will include: advise the chair with respect to research space policy,
equipment maintenance and purchase.
o An ongoing evaluation of common equipment spaces will be initiated in the Spring
2014 to better provide for the care and maintenance of our most sensitive
instruments.
Ongoing evaluation and revamping of teaching programs with final evaluation in 2 years
o The Biology Science Education representative will lead this effort (BA Life Science
Preparation for Teaching, BA Biological Science, Preparation for Teaching)
Zero enroll and phase out BA Life Science, Concentration in Wildlife Stewardship in next 2
years
Develop a workload matrix
Challenges and faculty workload
The ability to accomplish the proposed action items and fulfill our mission is directly linked to
faculty workload. The workload in our Department is distributed among 17 T/TT faculty members.
Faculty workload is not just teaching 12-15 units per semester. Maintaining an effective department,
which is able to coordinate large classes with multiple components (for example lecture, lab,
activity); peer review of faculty colleagues; perform committee duties; maintain active research
programs; publish scholarly work; write, obtain, and manage extramural grants; coordinate GE
assessment; perform PLO outcomes evaluation, report and analyze data, and perform cycles of
course redevelopment ultimately depends on the willingness of the University to allow the
Department to hire new faculty and provide release time. Otherwise, it is unreasonable to expect
departments to function without appropriate support.
11. Assessment Data
Two PLOs (2 and 3) were assessed in the Molecular Biology concentration. Two measures were
used for PLO#2: passing rate (last 10 years), and content assessment for two academic years (20122013, and 2013-2014). Due to the lower passing rate of Bio 135 (the capstone course in the
molecular biology concentration), a year-long course sequence was piloted for two academic cycles
and assessed. The new sequence (Bio135A-Bio135B) will be fully implemented in the 2014-2015 AY.
PLO#2: Content knowledge Understanding:
85
90
75
Students who passed (%)
80
70
60
50
60
71.8
65
58
45
50
51
52
55
49
48
Bio135
40
Bio135A
30
Bio135B
20
10
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Semester Taught
Fig. 1: Passing rate of students enrolled in Bio135, Bio 145 fall (Bio135A), and Bio 145 spring
(Bio135B)
Table 2: Assessment of Content knowledge in Advanced Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics (Bio135)
Concept
AY 2013
AY 2014
Signal Transduction
Not significant improvement
Not significant improvement
Cell Cycle
Not significant improvement
Not significant improvement
DNA Replication
Not significant improvement
Not significant improvement
Chromosome structure
Not significant improvement
Not significant improvement
Cell Death
Not significant improvement
Not significant improvement
Genetic Causes of Cancer
Not significant improvement
Not significant improvement
Table 3: Assessment of Content knowledge in Advanced Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics (Bio145 F
and Bio145 S)
Concept
AY 2012-2013
AY 2013-2014
Signal Transduction
Not significant improvement
Significant improvement
Cell Cycle
Not significant improvement
Significant improvement
DNA Replication
Significant improvement
Significant improvement
Chromosome structure
Significant improvement
Significant improvement
Cell Death
Significant improvement
Significant improvement
Genetic Causes of Cancer
Significant improvement
Significant improvement
A pre and a post assessment instrument were used in all three courses, analyzed for student gains,
and compared with each course. One hundred students in Bio135 took the pre/post assessment, 30
in Bio145 fall (Bio135A), and 48 students in Bio145 spring (Bio135B).
Percentage (%)
PLO#3: Laboratory Skills
Three Bio135 L sections (48 students) were assessed (two, multipart exam questions) in the Spring
2014 semester.
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Exceeding Expectations
Meeting Expectations
Below Expectations
Lab Skills
Fig. 2. Assessment of Lab Skills (Bio 135L)
12. Analysis
PLO2: Bio135, Bio135A-Bio135B
The Bio135A-Bio135B course sequence is drastically different than Bio135. Bio135 is a single
semester, lecture-based course. Bio135A-B, is team-taught, integrated, and conceptually based,
yearlong sequence. Instructors provide a short lecture (15-35 min) and students are given research
problems to solve in small groups of 4-5 students in class. Both instructors help students, but don’t
give the answers to the problems. At the end of the class period, cliquers are used to assess
students’ responses. These are graded. Then, faculty discussed each question. In addition, a
textbook is not used, instead a series of review or primary research articles are given.
Although, the new sequence is more difficult than Bio135, students have passed the new sequence
at significantly higher levels as compared with the past 10 years of Bio135. As for content, there
were no significant differences between the pre- and post-assessment answers given by students in
Bio 135. However, students enrolled in Bio135A-B showed significant gains in the post-assessment,
as compared with the pre-assessment of these courses and the post-assessment of Bio135.
PLO#3 Bio 135L:
Six lab skills were assessed: three in protein analysis, and three in recombinant DNA techniques.
Except, for restriction DNA analysis, most students enrolled in 2014 either exceeded or met learning
expectations.
13. Proposed changes and goals (if any)
No changes are proposed.