0SJSU Annual Program Assessment Form
Academic Year 2014-2015
Department: Geology
Program: B.S. Geology
College: Science
Website: www.sjsu.edu/geology/
x_ Check here if your website addresses the University Learning Goals.
http://www.sjsu.edu/geology/program/undergraduate/bsobjectives/index.html
Program Accreditation: N.A.
Contact Person and Email: Robert B. Miller, Robert.b.miller@sjsu. edu
Date of Report: 22 June 2015
Part A
1. List of Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
No changes from last year.
2. Map of PLOs to University Learning Goals (ULGs)
No changes from last year.
3. Alignment – Matrix of PLOs to Courses
No changes from last year.
4. Planning – Assessment Schedule
The schedule was updated, by rolling forward the PLOs through 2020.
PLO # 2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
x
5
x
6
x
x
5. Student Experience
The relevant “student experience” material from the 2013-14 assessment was not changed, but an
addition was made. A self-evaluation form (see below) was developed on the outcomes and levels
of performance for Geology 129, which is the capstone course that addresses all of the PLOs. This
self-evaluation was given at the end of the Fall 2014 semester. This self-evaluation should help
increase the status of the “student experience” from Emerging to Developed on the WASC rubric.
Geology Student Learning Objectives – Evaluation
Geology 129 (field camp/capstone experience) students: The Geology Department wants your
feedback on how well you judge that you have achieved one of the Department Program Learning
Objectives (all are listed on the class Greensheet).
Please write your comments anonymously (no signature) on this page and give the survey to Leslie
Blum in the Department Office.
Program Learning Objective 6: “Represent and interpret earth history through deep time.”
Part B
Item 6. Graduation Rates by Entering Cohorts: Geology
First-Time Freshmen
Undergraduate
Transfer
New Credential
Fall 2008 Cohort: 6Year Graduation Rate
Fall 2011 Cohort: 3Year Graduation Rate
Fall 2011 Cohort:
Fall 2011 Cohort: 3-Year
3-Year Graduation
Graduation Rate
Rate
First-Time Graduate
University Average Grad Rate - All Students Who Entered the
University
College Average Grad Rate - All Students Who Entered This
College
Program Grad Rate
Program Cohort Size
University Average Grad Rate - All Students Who Entered the
University
College Average Grad Rate - All Students Who Entered This
College
Program Grad Rate
Program Cohort Size
University Average Grad Rate - All Students Who Entered the
University
College Average Grad Rate - All Students Who Entered This
College
Program Grad Rate
Program Cohort Size
University Average Grad Rate - All Students Who Entered the
University
College Average Grad Rate - All Students Who Entered This
College
Program Grad Rate
Program Cohort Size
Total
1 0.0% 45.0% 49.7% 2 50.0% 47.4% 55.3% 0
/0 /0
8.3% 10 0.0% 27.6% 60.8%
URM
1 0.0% 26.5% 40.7% 0 /0
47.6% 55.2% 0
/0 /0
12.2
1
%
0.0% 10.0% 65.2%
NonURM
0 /0
49.1% 53.3% 2 50.0% 39.2% 54.9% 0
/0 /0
8.0% 7
0.0% 19.8% 54.2%
52.8% 52.9% 0 /0
/0 /0
4.9% 2
0.0% 50.0% 69.4%
All others 0 /0
64.9% 56.9% 0
Very few freshmen enter SJSU as Geology majors, in large part reflecting that few college-bound
students are taught Earth Science in high school. Thus, there are so few students that the graduation
rates lack statistical validity. Fortunately, this should change with the recent adoption by California of
Next Generation Standards for science education which place much new emphasis on Earth Sciences.
Our number of UG transfers is higher than that of first-time freshmen, though getting a statistical
graduation rate is still dubious. That said, we wish to improve the 3-year graduation rates. The low rates
probably in large part reflect that many of the transfers have not taken the necessary classes in calculus,
chemistry, and physics before they arrive here. The Department hosted the local community college
Earth Science instructors at a luncheon in May of 2014 and discussed transfer issues. We plan future
meetings and hope that there will be better streamlining of the transfer process.
Item 7. Headcount of Program Majors by Degree: Geology
Fall 2014
New Students Continuing Students
2
2
8
8
Total
44
30
14
Trnst-Ugrd
7
7
Retn.Tranf
10
2
8
Continuing
New Transf
FT Admit
Total
BS
MS
71
49
22
The number of BS majors has increased significantly (by 49%) in the last few years, from a low in 201213 to 2014-15 (see supplementary table compiled by the Department after Item 9), and the numbers in
junior and senior-level classes are larger than at any time since 1986.
Item 8. Student-Faculty Ratio (SFR) and Average
Headcount per Section: GEOL - Geology
Fall 2014
Fall 2014
35.1
31.0
23.2
22.5
25.5
7.1
9.6
20.8
Lower
Division
Upper
Division
Graduate
Division
University
Headcount per
Section
27.3
College
Headcount per
Section
Subject
Headcount per
Section
University
SFR
College SFR
Subject SFR
Lower
Division
Upper
Division
Graduate
Division
39.3
48.7
35.6
26.8
24.8
28.0
4.8
5.1
15.8
The SFR and average headcount have also increased dramatically. As summarized in the supplementary
table after item 9, the overall SFR increased 42% from a low of 16.5 in 2010-11 to 23.4 in F 2014 (Spring
15 not included). The headcount (average section size), as calculated by IEA and summarized in the
supplementary table, increased 28% from 18.1 in 2010-11 to 23.2 in 2014-15. If supervisory sections are
not included, the average section size increased 45% from 2010-11 to 2014-15. We also note that the
headcount for graduate students is negatively affected relative to many departments by the way that
credit is assigned for supervision courses. That is, individual sections are assigned to each faculty
member to insure proper credit, and there are a significant number of graduate students for the size of
Department. Formal graduate classes generally have >10 students.
Item 9. Percentage of Full-Time Equivalent Faculty
(FTEF): Geology
Fall 2014
University
FTEF %
College FTEF
%
Department
FTEF %
Department
FTEF #
Tenured/Tenure3.7
track
Not tenure-track 4.6
8.3
Total
45%
53.7%
42.8%
55%
100%
46.3% 57.2%
100.0% 100.0%
GEOLOGY FTES AND CLASS SIZE
(Compiled by Department)
FTES
2014-15
264.5
SFR
23.
4
*Sect. Size
Majors
23.2 (34.1)
49
2013-14
234.1
21.
2
22.6
39
2012-13
226.4
17.
8
22.9
33
2011-12
221.6
17
19.5
36
2010-11
200.8
16.
5
18.1 (23.4)
2009-10
179.8
18.
3
21.1
*Includes supervision sections. If these sections are not counted, section size ranges from 23.4 in 2010-11
to 34.1 in 2014-15
Part C
1. Closing the Loop/Recommended Actions
The Department has devoted significant time in faculty meetings in the spring semester during the last
three academic years to discuss assessment. We go over the assessment reports for the specific PLO(s)
evaluated (#6 this year) and then discuss the PLOs in general.
We did not change the curriculum or pedagogy in Geology 129 (PLO), our capstone course, since the last
time this PLO was assessed. We have, however, modified the sequencing of the class for spring 2016 and
summer (formal session) 2016. Geology 129 will be taught as a 2+(2 or 4) unit sequence with all students
taking an introductory 2-unit section (Geol 129A) in the spring prior to the summer field course. This will
be followed by the summer course where students can earn either 2 or 4 units of additional credit
toward their degree, depending on whether they complete 1 or 2 geologic mapping projects with
accompanying geologic reports. For the last 2 years, students had the option of skipping the
introductory 2-unit section, which did not seem logical, as it resulted in students having an uneven field
experience when they started the class in the summer. Four units of Geology 129 are required for the
B.S. degree and 2 additional units may be counted as Geology elective units.
Follow-Up From Meeting with Julie Sliva and Elaine Collins the COS coordinators for Assessment
The precision of the wording of PLOs #5 and particularly #6 were discussed. The chair intends to revise
the wording, but wants to obtain the formal approval of the entire Department faculty. Unfortunately,
this has yet to be done.
2. Assessment Data and Analysis
The following PLO was assessed for this report.
PLO 6. Understand how geologists measure deep time and reconstruct earth history.
This PLO is a fundamental aspect of geology and the Earth Sciences as a whole, and is assessed to
varying degrees by most of the core and elective classes in the major. Most directly, Geol 7 and 28
introduce the PLO, Geol 124 reinforces it, and 129A-129B/C (field camp) is the class where it is formally
assessed.
A major theme of Geology 7 (Earth, Time, and Life) is the study of the methods and approaches that
geologists have used to measure deep time and reconstruct Earth's history. Two Geology 7 labs relate
directly to this program learning objective:
In Lab 3 ("Sedimentary Rocks and Their Depositional Environments"), students are presented with a
series of sedimentary rocks said to have been collected from a stratigraphic section. The students
identify the rocks and then--based on paleoenvironmental interpretations of the rock types (e.g., black
shales represent deep water, while coals represent terrestrial swamps)--reconstruct how the region
where the rocks accumulated changed over time.
In Lab 4 ("Geological Time"), students apply basic principles of geology (such as superposition and crosscutting relationships) to determine the relative ordering of events that are depicted in provided
geological cross sections. They also calculate the ages of hypothetical mineral samples based on
provided half-life decay constants and amounts of radioactive isotopes remaining. Assessment of the
latter in Spring 2015 showed that 75 of 120 students (63%) achieved perfect scores on the
corresponding lab problem (note that assessment metrics for 2 sections were not recorded).
Assignments in Geology 124 (Sedimentology and Stratigraphy) include two 2-week laboratory exercises,
one based on outcrop data from Nevada and one based on seismic reflection data from Morocco, in
which students analyze the data and use their analysis to describe the geologic histories of each of the
two areas they studied.
In Geology 129 (Field Geology), all students must prepare a comprehensive geologic report, which is the
primary assessment tool used in the course. The report includes: rock descriptions, description of the
stratigraphy (sequence of strata through time), stratigraphic sections, interpretation of the geological
history, geologic maps, and geologic cross-sections of the map area. Students must first identify and
classify all of the rock units that are in their map area. The disposition of the rock units (i.e. their
relationship to each other) is accomplished by the mapping of the rock units in the field and identifying
the types of contacts between them (e.g., faulted, depositional).
Several parts of the report are particularly relevant to PLO #6. 1). Students measure, depict graphically,
describe, and interpret a stratigraphic section from one of the formations in their map areas. The
interpretations force them to evaluate changes in sedimentary deposition with time. 2) As part of the
mapping, students identify fossils, which are used to interpret the relative ages of the rocks (e.g.,
Cambrian - ~ 530 million years ago vs. Pennsylvania – 300 million years ago), and enable students to
further recognize how depositional setting has changed with time. 3) In the section on geologic history
in the major report, a student synthesizes all of the data gathered over 3 weeks to interpret the geologic
history of the region, emphasizing how the region has changed with time.
The report is assessed using a standardized rubric that assesses how well the students perform on each
individual part of the report as well as the writing. A separate rubric is used for evaluating the geologic
map, cross sections, and stratigraphic sections. In fall 2014 (instruction took place in summer 2014)
there were 21 students who took Geology 129. Of these, 4 scored excellent in meeting the PLO, 10
scored well, 5 others were deemed satisfactory, and 2 did not meet the expectation for this PLO. Both of
the latter students have not performed particularly well at SJSU (<2.2 GPA).
Proposed changes and goals
As stated above, the Department did not change the curriculum or pedagogy in Geology 129 since the
last time this PLO was assessed. In the future, Geology 129 will be taught as a 2+(2 or 4) unit sequence
with all students taking an introductory 2-unit section (Geol 129A) in the spring prior to the summer
field course. This will be followed by the summer course where students can earn either 2 or 4 units of
additional credit toward their degree, depending on whether they complete 1 or 2 geologic mapping
projects with accompanying geologic reports. Four units of Geology 129 are required for the B.S. degree
and 2 additional units may be counted as Geology elective units.
The feedback from the students (described in “student experience”) on meeting the PLO was uniformly
positive. That said, the number of students returning the questionnaire was <50%. We will give this form
out while in the field to spur more of a response.