Philosophy Program Review
Willow International Center
Final Report Draft
By
Michael Stannard, Willow International Center
September 8, 2012
1
I.
General Information
A. Instructional Area
Philosophy
B. California Community College Chancellor’s Office Taxonomy of Programs (TOP)
Code
1509.00 – Philosophy
Critical examination of the categories for describing reality, the nature and contexts of human
experience, the methodology of rational inquiry, and criteria of practice, including ethics,
aesthetics, logic, and the history of ideas.
1510.00 – Religious Studies (Theological professions excluded)
Nature, function, origin, history, and tenets of the various religions.
C.
General description of programs and services offered.
1. Current staffing
There is one full-time philosophy instructor at the Willow Center, Michael Stannard. Willow
currently has two part-time instructors. In the Fall semester 2011, John Beversluis taught three
sections (two sections of Ethics, one section of Introduction to Philosophy); Jeffery Der Torosian
taught one section (World Religions). Student tutors have provided tutoring to logic students at
Willow most semesters over the last four years. In Fall 2012 we also have a tutor for PHIL 2.
2
Staffing Summary
To be completed by Dean
20
20
-
20
20
-
20
20
-
20
20
-
Administrators
Full - Time Faculty
Adjunct Faculty
Classified
Students – XXO
Students – Fed.
Work Study
Total
2. Courses in the program area
The philosophy program at Willow offers six courses:
PHIL 1 (Introduction to Philosophy)
PHIL 1C (Ethics)
PHIL 1CH (Honors Ethics)
PHIL 1D (World Religions)
PHIL 2 (Critical Thinking and Writing)
PHIL 4 (Critical Reasoning, Emphasis on Elementary Education)
PHIL 6 (Logic)
All philosophy courses are transferable. None is non-credit.
3. Degrees and certificates awarded
The philosophy program does not confer a degree or certificate.
3
20
20
-
Total
Division
Budget
For the 5th
year
20
20
Percent of
Division
20
20
4. Brief facilities overview
The philosophy department has no special facilities needs.
4. Supply requirements
Copy machine, paper, Scantron scoring machine, “smart” classrooms.
D. Mission, Strategic Plan, and Educational Master Plan
1. Support of the College and Centers Mission Statements
Reedley College Mission Statement
Reedley College provides an accessible, student-centered educational environment
featuring high-quality learning opportunities. We offer basic skills enhancement, associate
degree programs, career technical education, and transfer-level courses as an integral
component for life-long learning within a diverse local and global community.
North Centers Mission Statement
The mission of the North Centers is to provide affordable and comprehensive educational
opportunities to a diverse population of students who seek opportunities for basic skills
development, associate degrees, certificates, transfer, and lifelong learning that will enable
them to become engaged participants in local and global communities. Student success will
be measured through a continuous improvement process with an emphasis on student
learning outcomes.
The philosophy program at Willow supports the missions of Reedley College and the North
Centers chiefly by providing high-quality transfer-level courses. Our philosophy courses also
provide an essential component of the liberal education which enables students to become
lifelong learners and engaged participants in diverse local and global communities. And we have
developed a methodology for the use of student-learning outcomes which ensures that we remain
attentive to the needs of students and continually improve our instruction and services.
2. Describe how your program supports the College/Centers Strategic Plan. Give a
few specific examples.
Strategic objective 1.2 of the Willow International Center’s 2007-2008 Strategic Plan
“Improve and expand library and learning resources services and materials.”
The Willow philosophy department has recommended 200 or so philosophy titles for the library
at Willow.
Strategic objective 2.4 of the Willow International Center’s 2007-2008 Strategic Plan
“Improve student participation in programs and services.”
Since the last program review, we have developed a philosophy club at Willow. It meets for one
hour on Thursday afternoons and makes an important co-curricular contribution to the
philosophy program at Willow.
4
Strategic objective 4.3 of the Willow International Center’s 2007-2008 Strategic Plan
“Improve dissemination of information about class events and functions.”
The philosophy program at Willow has made students aware of philosophy talks and conferences
at our own venues and at Fresno State, UC Merced, and Fresno City College. With an extracredit incentive, these events have been very well attended by our students.
Strategic objectives 2.1 and 2.2 of the SCCCD strategic plan for 2008-2012
2.1 “Increase persistence rates of students”; 2.2 “Increase student progress, achievement
and completion rates.”
Strategic objective 2.2 of the North Centers 2009-2010 Strategic Plan
“Develop improvement strategies based on assessment results of Student Learning
Outcomes.”
Strategic objective 6.1 of Willow 2010-2011 strategic plan for 2010-2011
“Decrease the number of students on probation.”
The philosophy instructors from Reedley, Madera, and Willow have met at least twice a year to
discuss SLOs and develop strategies to improve instruction based on assessment results of SLOs.
The 2009-2010 NC strategic plan calls for 100% of course SLOs to be assessed by Fall 2012. It
also anticipates proficiency in the use of SLOs to develop improvement strategies by Fall 2012.
The philosophy department believes we are already at the level of proficiency in developing
improvement strategies based on SLO assessment results.
We have interpreted objective 2.2 of the 2009-2010 strategic plan to call for assessment
of every course SLO every semester. We are on schedule to achieve proficiency in this objective
during the Fall semester of 2012.
One strategy which has emerged from discussions in the philosophy department is to
make final exams cumulative and weigh them comparatively heavily in the calculation of course
grades. Thus a final exam might be worth 25 per cent of a course grade and test everything from
the first to the last week of instruction. This will require students who want to do well to master
the subject matter of our courses more deeply than they have heretofore been required to do.
Our SLO assessments have also revealed that some students will not study for an exam
even when an instructor provides a detailed study guide and detailed instruction in how and what
to study in order to do well on the exam. “Students don’t do optional,” says the 2010 “Report of
the Commission on the Future” of the Community College League of California. Rather than
waiting for students to “opt-in” to services, the report recommends that colleges offer students
what it calls “intrusive” support. Consistent with these recommendations, the philosophy
department is exploring the possibility of a mandatory study hall as a strategy for addressing this
problem. SUNY-Stony Brook has made successful use of this approach for entering freshmen
who are deficient in basic skills. We think a mandatory study hall would present no great
difficulty to implement (provided it could be funded). We think it might be an effective method
of helping students to develop good study habits early in their college careers, and could
contribute significantly to an increase in success and completion rates. To watch a video on the
SUNY-Stony Brook Educational Opportunity Program, click on the following link:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education/july-dec10/minorities_09-28.html
It is worth noting with respect to study outside of class that federal regulations
promulgated in July 2011 define a credit hour as
5
an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of
student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably
approximates not less than—
(1) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of
out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester
or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the
equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
(2) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition
for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work,
internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit
hours (Code of Federal Regulations, 2011, Education, 600.1; emphasis added).
This regulation may be interpreted as permitting institutions to adopt policies which encourage
students to study outside class; just as attendance is currently enforced in the State Center
District with a drop-sanction, attendance at study hours could also be enforced with a dropsanction.
Goal 7.3 of the North Centers’ 2010-2011 Strategic Plan
“Develop course, program, and general education outcomes for all North Centers
programs.”
In the Fall semester of 2010 the philosophy program of Reedley and the North Centers
developed program-level outcomes for philosophy and mapped them onto our course-level
outcomes and the general-education-level outcomes which had been developed by Reedley
College and the North Centers.
SLOs-PLOs-GELOs September 3 2010.docx
Goal 8.1 of the North Centers’ 2010-2011 Strategic Plan (Objective 13.2 of the 2011-2012
plan)
“Increase level of independent trouble-shooting by end users.”
Members of the philosophy department have been assiduous in learning how the equipment in
their classrooms works so that it is not necessary to call in the tech people for minor problems.
Goal 8.3 of the North Centers’ 2010-2011 Strategic Plan (Objective 13.4 of the 2011-2012
plan)
“Increase professional development opportunities.”
The philosophy department of the Willow International Center hosted the annual conference of
the Central Valley Philosophical Association at Willow in October 2011. Michael Cole from
Reedley and John Beversluis from Willow presented papers, while Jim Druley from Madera and
Michael Stannard from Willow organized the conference. This was an important occasion for
area philosophers to meet and exchange ideas. We are very grateful to Terry Kershaw and the
North Centers administration for providing an excellent lunch for our guests.
More generally, members of the philosophy department have sought to increase their
professional development opportunities by keeping each other informed of upcoming philosophy
conferences and talks. On several occasions we have attended talks or conferences together.
6
These are some recent examples of efforts by philosophy department members to continue to
grow as professionals in their field:
April 2012: Michael Stannard, American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Annual
Meeting, Seattle, WA.
November 2011: Michael Stannard, North American Kant Society, Pacific Study Group, Annual
Meeting, UC Santa Cruz.
October 2011: Michael Stannard, American Catholic Philosophical Association, Annual
Meeting, St. Louis, MO.
April 2011: Michael Stannard, American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Annual
Meeting, San Diego, CA.
October 2010: Michael Stannard, Central Valley Philosophical Association, Annual Conference,
Merced College.
April 2010: Michael Stannard, American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Meeting,
San Francisco, CA.
3. Describe how your program supports the College/Centers Educational Master
Plan. Give a few specific examples.
North Centers Educational Master Plan 2009-2010
Recommendation 4
“In cooperation with the other colleges in the district, develop and implement a
comprehensive program of [alignment among] the colleges to ensure consistency in
prerequisites, units of credit and curriculum so as to allow students to transfer credit for
coursework among the instructional locations throughout SCCCD.”
The philosophy instructor at Willow has met once a year or so with the philosophy department at
Fresno City over the past five years. Four years ago we had a discussion about making English
1A a prerequisite for our North-Centers Philosophy 4 course, as they had done already at Fresno
City (English 1A is a prerequisite for all philosophy courses at Fresno City except logic). Some
of us in the North Centers philosophy department were opposed to the idea because it would
mean many students could not enroll in a philosophy course in their first semester. North
Centers administration opposed the idea because it would limit access to general-education
courses.
Even if we cannot agree on prerequisites, part of our plan over the next five years is to
have regular discussions with our philosophy colleagues at Fresno City with a view to
standardizing course curricula and numbering, and maintaining and improving the quality of
philosophy instruction across the State Center District.
2009-2010 Reedley College Educational Master Plan
The most recent Reedley College Educational Master Plan (2009-2010) notes that Reedley
“generated 102.1 WSCH per section in the fall 2008 semester.” This was low compared to
an average 115 WSCH per section of eighteen California community colleges in the Maas
Companies database. The Master Plan calls for Reedley to increase its average class size
from 26.4 to 30 or 31 in order to achieve an average of 115 WSCH per section by 2015. The
plan also calls for Reedley to achieve an average class size of 32 by 2025.
Decreases in numbers of sections taught, coupled with increases in section caps for most
7
philosophy courses at Willow, have enabled the philosophy program to achieve average section
sizes far above these recommendations. In Fall 2010, the average section size for philosophy
courses at Willow was 47.4. For the foreseeable future, we expect that the philosophy program
will continue to meet or exceed the “break-even” average section size of 33 recommended by
Chancellor Blue in May 2012.
The 2009-2010 Reedley Master Plan recommends “positive attendance” classes as a way to
increase weekly student contact hours without increasing class sizes. Students in health
occupations, public services, math, English and the humanities, foreign languages and
especially basic skills would be enrolled in courses that utilize computer-based tutorial
materials; these courses would track positive attendance in the computer labs and tutorial
centers on campus.
The philosophy department will explore the possibility of implementing this recommendation.
We also think that we could increase student-contact hours without (further) increasing class
sizes by instituting the mandatory study hall mentioned earlier in this section. In the
experimental stage of a mandatory study hall, one or more full-time instructors would devote
some part of their contractually required office hours to the supervision of study-hall hours
which would be mandatory for students who do poorly on the first exam or paper of the
semester. If the program proved successful, a study-hall coordinator could be hired. Students
who did not show up for mandatory study hours would be subject to exclusion from a course. As
we said earlier, we think this system might offer an effective method for instilling good study
habits in students early in the semester and early in their academic careers. It has produced very
encourage results at SUNY-Stony Brook.
E. In the table below, list only the recommendations deemed substantiated by the Program
Review Committee from the previous Program Review and the implementation status of
each. Include in the status column any barriers encountered.
None qualifies. In 2007, the philosophy department recommended that “compensation be made
available to part-time faculty for participation in a once-per-semester socialization process
undertaken for the purpose of developing a shared judgment on the quality of written work. We
would read several student papers and discuss the grades we would give them in an effort to
make grading consistent across the department.” This recommendation was never approved.
8
II.
Quantitative Analysis
1. Total enrollment
General Remarks
In the five years from Fall 2006 to Fall 2010, enrollment in philosophy courses has increased
significantly at the Willow International (79%). There is some fluctuation between fall and
spring semesters, but the trend is strongly up. With one full-time and two part-time instructors,
average section size was 47. In the immediate future, we expect enrollment to increase only
modestly since philosophy classes at Willow are near capacity and there is no expectation that
more philosophy sections will be added.
Given Willow’s relatively high enrollment in Philosophy classes, 427 as of Fall 2010,
and its high rate of enrollment growth, 79% from Fall 2006 to Fall 2010, we think an additional
full-time instructor should be hired for the Willow campus within the next five years.
TABLE FOR ENROLLMENT TRENDS
HEADCOUNT (Unduplicated)
06SP 06FA 07SP
WILLOW
INTERNATION
AL
238
241
246
07FA
08SP
08FA
09SP
09FA
10SP
10FA
313
375
418
410
438
349
427
2. Enrollment by Demographics: age, gender, & ethnicity
2a. Age
TABLE FOR AGE
WILLOW
INTERANTION
AL
19 or Less
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-49
50+
06SP
06FA
07SP
07FA
08SP
08FA
09SP
09FA
10SP
10FA
25%
58%
10%
3%
3%
1%
1%
27%
53%
9%
3%
3%
3%
0%
26%
53%
13%
4%
2%
2%
1%
29%
51%
9%
4%
3%
4%
1%
32%
51%
9%
3%
2%
2%
1%
31%
54%
9%
2%
1%
2%
1%
37%
48%
8%
2%
1%
2%
1%
34%
48%
11%
2%
2%
2%
0%
43%
42%
9%
3%
0%
2%
0%
41%
45%
7%
4%
1%
2%
0%
9
Remarks
Enrollment in Philosophy courses tends to be highest in the 20-24 age range, and second highest
in the 19 or younger range, indicating that Philosophy courses are not usually taken by students
at the very beginning of their community college careers. Since all Philosophy courses are
transferable, students seem to take Philosophy when they are closer to transferring than when
they first arrive at our campuses, presumably because many of our students need
developmental/non-transferable coursework when they first arrive in order to prepare for
transferable, “college level” work, which includes Philosophy courses.
Willow International is notable for a trend toward younger students enrolling in
Philosophy courses, culminating in Fall 2010, in which the balance is closer between students 19
or youngers (41%) and students 20-24 (45%) than it was in the earlier and majority of years
under review.
There is significant enrollment in the combined, expected age categories 19-29, as well as
at least some representative enrollment of students of non-traditional ages of 30-50+, reflecting a
valuable diversity of students of various ages in Philosophy courses.
2b. Gender
TABLE FOR GENDER
WILLOW
INTERNATION
AL
Female
Male
Unreported
06SP
06FA
07SP
07FA
08SP
08FA
09SP
09FA
10SP
10FA
44%
56%
0%
56%
44%
0%
52%
48%
0%
58%
42%
0%
49%
50%
0%
46%
53%
1%
46%
53%
1%
49%
51%
0%
48%
52%
0%
47%
52%
1%
Remarks
The trend at Willow for the last six semesters is toward a slight preponderance of male (50%55%) over female enrollment (45%-50%).
10
2c. Ethnicity
TABLE FOR ETHNICITY
WILLOW
INTERNATIONAL
African-American/
Non-Hispanic
American
Indian/Alaskan
Asian/Pacific
Islander
Hispanic
Race/Ethnicity
Unknown
White/ nonHispanic
06SP
06FA
07SP
07FA
08SP
08FA
09SP
09FA
10SP
10FA
3%
2%
2%
4%
3%
2%
2%
3%
3%
3%
2%
1%
1%
2%
2%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
5%
5%
7%
5%
8%
5%
8%
7%
9%
10%
15%
18%
20%
18%
18%
19%
18%
18%
19%
25%
14%
19%
14%
14%
13%
13%
15%
11%
11%
9%
60%
55%
56%
58%
56%
60%
55%
60%
57%
53%
Remarks
Willow International is no longer a “white” campus, if it ever was, with enrollment of Hispanics
growing steadily from 15% in Spring 2006 to 25% in Fall 2010, and the combined categories of
non-white students constituting at least 39% of total enrollment in Fall 2010 (with 9% of
unknown ethnicity).
Willow may now qualify as a “Hispanic-serving institution,” and we should bear that in
mind when seeking funding for programs designed to help Hispanic students. The main program
we would like to have to serve our Hispanic students is already in place: tutoring in the Writing
Centers. Tutors are currently paid at Reedley. This is perhaps why the Reedley philosophy
instructor tends to have very good tutors, and for the majority of his classes. We would like the
kind of tutorial services currently provided at Reedley to be extended to Willow, with philosophy
tutors regularly paid, not just given “credits” or “hours.”
TABLE FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT INDICATORS
WILLOW
INTERNATION
AL
GPA
SUCCESS
RETENTION
ATTRITION
06SP
06FA
07SP
07FA
08SP
08FA
09SP
09FA
10SP
10FA
1.89
52.9
84.3
15.7
1.84
53.0
89.1
10.9
2.02
54.8
85.6
14.4
2.35
63.9
85.7
14.3
2.53
58.0
77.3
22.7
2.76
66.6
82.3
17.7
2.69
71.4
84.8
15.2
2.26
67.2
89.3
10.7
2.61
72.8
91.6
8.4
2.67
78.2
90.3
9.7
11
3. Retention Remarks
Retention rates are good and increasing at Willow. Retention held within 77.3%-91.6%, with a
trend toward increased and very high retention in both of the two latest semesters, 91.6% in
Spring 2010 and 90.3% in Fall 2010.
4. Success Remarks
“Philosophy is hard,” as the Madera philosophy instructor was told, when he was a student, by
one of his UC professors. Philosophy requires a “special analytic twist of mind,” as the same
writer was told by another of his professors, also long ago. Philosophy takes some “getting used
to,” and is not a subject that students encounter in California public high schools. So, Philosophy
course success rates generally compare to success rates in Math and Science courses.
Philosophy can be seen as a sort of “bridge” discipline between Math and Science, on the one
hand, and the Humanities and Social Sciences, on the other. Historical knowledge of the
development of the various academic disciplines may shed light on this comparison, because
disciplines generally grew out of Philosophy over time, and Philosophy tries to retain a
methodology that is as consistent as possible with mathematical and scientific reasoning.
Success at Willow is trending up, with 78% of philosophy students succeeding in Fall
2010. The philosophy instructor expects that success rates at Willow over the next few years
will return to the lower levels prevalent in the early years of this Cycle III program review. The
use of cumulative finals and the imposition of stricter academic standards more generally is
likely to produce a dip in success rates, a dip we hope will be temporary, as students adjust to
higher expectations.
Success rates could be increased by adding a prerequisite of ENGL 1A for all Philosophy
courses, an idea that the philosophy department discussed with the VP of Instruction for the
North Centers two years ago. The administrator resisted the idea because prerequisites set
barriers to students enrolling in courses that they want and need, and because (as we agreed)
prerequisites might severely suppress enrollment in Philosophy courses at campuses that have a
high percentage of students who need developmental coursework and have not successfully
passed ENGL 1A.
So there is a dilemma about success in our Philosophy courses: either set prerequisites to
increase student success and lower enrollment, or keep the usual advisories of ENGL 125 and
ENGL 126, and allow students to enroll in Philosophy courses who are not fully prepared to
succeed. The imperfect resolution to this dilemma has been to take the latter course, and leave
the doors open for the students to attempt Philosophy, virtually as soon as they want to. Although
it may be semi-coherent, the phrase “right to fail” applies here, and is often repeated by
administrators during discussions of proposals for prerequisites.
It should be said that success is a difficult statistic to analyze since so many variables
contribute to it, the most important of which is the heretofore uncontrollable of student effort.
We are hoping that our use of SLOs and the new pedagogical approaches we develop based on
SLOs will increase our success rates. Perhaps the principle of “teach it till they get it” will
contribute to an improvement in our success rates. This pedagogy requires extensive repetition
and review, and decreases the amount of material that can be covered in a semester, but it
increases the percentage of students who master the course outcomes. The present writer is also
convinced that a mandatory study hall for students who fail a first exam would dramatically
increase success rates. We have discussed this proposal on p. 5 as part of our discussion of
district, college, and center strategic objectives.
12
The Academic Regulations of the most recent Reedley College catalogues set forth the
following standard for hours of study outside of class:
The standard quantity for measurement of college work is
a unit. One unit equals one hour of classroom lecture per
week plus two hours of study. Using this formula, a class
that meets in lecture three times a week for one hour will be
worth three units (p. 21 of the 2012-2014 catalogue; emphasis added).
The Fresno City College catalogue has identical language. As we remarked earlier, this
standard has been adopted by the federal Department of Education and is therefore one of the
federally mandated standards of WASC and ACCJC.
Since the district requires class attendance and has structures in place to encourage
regular attendance, the present writer thinks that two hours of study outside of class could also be
required, and structures could be developed to make fulfillment of the requirement more
likely. A mandatory study hall for certain students would be one such structure, with attendance
strongly encouraged through the same drop-sanction that strongly encourages regular attendance
during the first half of a semester.
Recent reports on California community colleges recommend that students be required to
adopt specific goals which will make their time in community college more focused and
productive. All of the reports recommend, for example, that students be required to develop an
educational plan during their first semester. As the “Report of the Commission on the Future”
(2010) of the Community College League of California puts it, “Students don’t do optional.”
Attending class is not optional, and there are structures in place in the State Center Community
College District which tend to keep attendance at high levels, especially during the first half of
the semester. Good attendance, however, to understate the claim, is not sufficient to ensure
success in a class. It is just as important that students study outside of class, and that they are
committed to studying until they have mastered the material. Along with every other
community-college instructor, the present writer has evidence that some students will not study
at all even when they know exactly what to study and how to study it in order to do well on an
exam.
Here is a series of events which is repeated semester after semester: students are given
five or six study questions for an exam, with the understanding that they will be asked to write
prepared answers on two of them, and will not be able to use notes or books during the exam.
They are counseled to write outlines of answers and to memorize the main points of their
outlines prior to the exam. Use of this strategy for exam-preparation will benefit students
throughout their college careers and beyond. The time and effort required to prepare using this
method are not overly burdensome, yet on the day of the exam there is always a contingent of
five per cent or more of students whose exams evince no knowledge of any acceptable answer to
any question on the exam. The clear inference is that they did not study at all for the exam. But
the larger point here is that these are students we must reach.
Hearing of the use of a mandatory study period for at-risk students at State University
New York, Stony Brook as a strategy for cultivating good study habits, the present writer set
about collecting data to determine provisionally whether there was a correlation between failing
a first exam and failing the course. If there was, perhaps the early intervention of mandatory,
supervised study hours would provide an opportunity for students who might otherwise fail a
course to develop habits required for success.
13
Briefly, he looked at students who received a D or F on the first exam in his PHIL 1,
PHIL 1C, and PHIL 6 classes in Spring 2012, and then compared them with students who
received a D or F for the course.
In PHIL 1, 11 students out of 45 who took the first exam received a D or F. 7 of those 11 (64%)
also received a D or F for the course.
In PHIL 1C, 27 students out of 55 who took the first exam received a D or F. 15 of those 27
(56%) also received a D or F for the course.
In PHIL 6, 18 students out of 46 who took the first exam received a D or F. 9 of those 18 (50%)
also received a D or F for the course.
The present writer concluded from these data that failing the first exam was a fairly good
predictor of failure in a course, and that students who failed the first exam in any course would
benefit from the early intervention of mandatory study hours.
The full-time instructor at Willow has begun making homework a substantial part of the
course grade (usually 20%). An example of a homework assignment for PHIL 1 is “Describe the
first half of the dialogue between Socrates and Meno,” to be turned in to turnitin.com. The
instructor tells students that they cannot write an answer to this question which will receive full
credit unless they spend at least four hours reading the dialogue and taking notes on it. If this
pedagogical strategy proves successful, study outside of class will make the most important
contribution to student learning and student success, which is as it should be.
A project for the future is to correlate homework grades with course grades.
5. Program Mark Analysis Report
MARK ANALYSIS TABLE
WILLOW
INTERNATIO
NAL
A
B
C
CR
D
F
I
W
Totals
06SP
06FA
07SP
07FA
08SP
08FA
09SP
09FA
10SP
10FA
10%
23%
21%
0%
12%
20%
0%
16%
242
16%
13%
24%
0%
11%
24%
1%
11%
247
15%
22%
18%
0%
9%
21%
1%
14%
250
21%
27%
16%
0%
5%
17%
0%
14%
321
25%
24%
9%
0%
3%
16%
1%
23%
388
32%
26%
8%
0%
2%
13%
0%
18%
434
27%
28%
17%
0%
3%
10%
0%
15%
420
16%
29%
22%
0%
6%
16%
0%
11%
448
29%
28%
16%
0%
9%
10%
0%
8%
356
26%
30%
22%
0%
2%
10%
0%
10%
445
14
Remarks
At Willow, there is a much higher percentage of As and Bs than at Reedley or Madera. Our
supposition is that students at Willow are generally more prepared for college-level work, having
come to Willow (usually) from “feeder” high schools that have high “rankings” in state
evaluations, and are in a geographical area with a strong socio-economic base, the factor most
commonly cited in educational circles as making the difference in student success at all levels.
6. FT/PT Enrollment Status
UNIT LOAD TABLES
WILLOW
INTERNATION
AL
FULL TIME
PART TIME
06SP
06FA
07SP
07FA
08SP
08FA
09SP
09FA
10SP
10FA
62%
38%
63%
37%
63%
37%
62%
38%
62%
38%
68%
32%
73%
27%
67%
33%
78%
22%
71%
29%
Remarks
Philosophy students at Willow are significantly more likely to be full-time students than parttime students. Other things being equal, full-time students are more likely to persist and be
successful.
7. WSCH/FTEF
TABLES FOR FTES/FTEF and WSCH/FTEF
WILLOW
INTERNATIONAL
Contract
(Fac. Workload)
Part Time
(Fac. Workload)
Extra Pay
(FT Fac.
Workload)
FTEF
FTES
FTES per FTEF
WSCH per FTEF
FT:PT LHE Ratio
06SP
06FA
0.20
1.20
1.40
24.30
17.36
520.7
1
0.17:1
1.44
1.44
24.60
17.08
512.5
0
0:6.6
07SP
07FA
08SP
08FA
09SP
09FA
10SP
10FA
0.20
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.40
1.00
1.00
1.00
0.60
0.60
2.40
39.60
16.50
495.0
0
0.71:1
0.08
2.08
42.70
20.53
615.8
7
1.00:1
0.08
2.08
42.00
20.19
605.7
7
1.00:1
1.60
35.50
22.19
665.6
3
1.67:1
0.24
1.84
44.70
24.29
728.8
0
1.67:1
1.20
24.80
20.67
620.0
0
0.20:1
2.00
32.30
16.15
484.5
0
1.00:1
15
2.00
44.30
22.15
664.5
0
1.00:1
Remarks
The RC/NC administrators recently announced that the desired minimum WSCH-FTEF ratio is
525. This part of our report is important to the college administration, and the positive news is
that the philosophy program has exceeded the desired WSCH-FTEF ratio of 525 for the last five
semesters. In Fall 2010, ratio was an exorbitant 728.8. From the point of view of pure
“productivity” this statistic is good, but there is a downside: excellent philosophical education
requires a significant amount of writing by the students, and the greater the number of students a
philosophy instructor has, the more difficult it is to assign an adequate amount of writing. So, the
high enrollment in our Philosophy courses, the high “productivity” reflected in the strong
WSCH/FTEF ratio, will sooner or later almost certainly lower the quality of the education of our
students, if it has not already done so. One administrator recently told one of our full-time
philosophy instructors that his “goal is to get as many widgets [by which he meant students] out
of the back end for the lowest possible cost at the front end,” showing (perhaps) that he takes a
“factory” approach to community-college education. If this view represents the predominant
attitude among the various stakeholder communities in the SCCCD, perhaps our goal should be
WSCH/FTEF ratios far above the break-even number of 525-35. Quality of education, however,
will suffer when instructional personnel are spread so thin. We, the Philosophy faculty ask, Is
that really OK?
Budget Summary: to be completed by Dean
These data are for Willow only. Administration had not been able to provide complete data as of
the report deadline.
Salaries
Benefits
Instructional
Supplies
XX0
LT0
Perkins
2006- 2007
2007- 2008
2008- 2009
2009- 2010
2010- 2011
$93,967.25
$178,397.66
$190,416.09
$188,825.05
$196,874.29
16
Total
Division
Budget
For the
5th year
20102011
Perce
nt of
Divisi
on
20
20
Grant Funded
Non-Instructional
Supplies
XX0
LT0
Perkins
Grant Funded
Operating Expenses
XX0
LT0
Perkins
Grant Funded
Equipment
XX0
LT0
Perkins
Grant Funded
Total
17
III. Student Learning Outcomes
A. List the degree/certificate/program student learning outcomes as were included in the
prior Program Review. As appropriate, include the grid by which courses were mapped
to the degree/certificate/program student learning outcomes (see Appendix A, Steps One
and Two).
The philosophy faculty of Reedley College and the North Centers developed two programlevel outcomes as part of the 2007 program review:
(1) students demonstrate mastery of the concepts of validity and soundness;
(2) students produce a successful argumentative essay.
In Fall 2010, we developed a more comprehensive set of nine program-level outcomes:
(1) Analyze deductive arguments for validity and soundness.
(2) Understand the difference between deductive and inductive arguments.
(3) Write a cogent argumentative essay.
(4) Respect the values of dialogue, argumentation, and principled criticism in a societal and
global context.
(5) Explain the most important issues in philosophy and accurately characterize various opposing
viewpoints on them.
(6) Thoroughly and accurately describe the arguments for opposing viewpoints on philosophical
issues.
(7) Construct arguments of their own on philosophical issues and express their arguments clearly
and cogently.
(8) Respond to objections to their own views and engage in rational dialogue on philosophical
issues without resorting to logical fallacies or rhetoric.
(9) See philosophical questioning and rational dialogue as valuable and essential elements of a
human life well lived.
At that time we mapped all our course-level outcomes to program-level outcomes and generaleducation outcomes. SLOs-PLOs-GELSeptember 3 2010.docx
B. Describe the results of the assessments of student learning outcomes as reported in the
Program Assessment Reporting Form.
Our assessments have shown that many students are deficient in basic skills. They do not seem
to have learned how to study or respond to assignments in a way that will make it possible for
them to achieve success in college-level classes. We are satisfied with our assessment tools,
which we believe provide us with information which accurately reveals the strengths and
weaknesses of our students.
Program Assessment Report for Instruction Philosophy jan 19 2012.docx
18
C. Describe any changes and/or proposed changes in pedagogy, curriculum, student
learning outcomes, facilities, etc. that occurred as a result of the evaluation of the
assessment of student learning outcomes as reported in the Program Assessment
Reporting Form.
Changes in pedagogy are ongoing from semester to semester based on what we learn
from our assessments. In our writing and critical-thinking class, PHIL 2, for example, we have
developed a paper format which students use to organize each of their papers through the entire
semester. This paper format provides a basic structure for writing an argumentative essay which
can be adapted for almost any purpose in expository writing. We anticipate that students will be
able to master use of the format in a single semester, and that it will serve them well throughout
their college careers and beyond.
In the writing, critical thinking, and logic courses (PHIL 2, PHIL 4, PHIL 6), studentlearning outcomes have helped us to identify more clearly which concepts and skills are
consistently difficult for students to master. We have begun a more deliberate and focused use
of a strategy of re-teaching and reinforcing certain skills and concepts throughout the semester.
The basic change of emphasis in pedagogy is to keep teaching a concept until students get it.
We are less certain that this approach can be used in Introduction to Philosophy, Ethics,
and World Religions (PHIL 1, PHIL 1C, and PHIL 1D). These courses require more reading and
mastery of a larger body of material. In addition, these courses cannot be organized around a
few key concepts whose mastery leads directly to the mastery of subsidiary concepts. Personal
commitment on the part of the student is more critical to success in these courses. We are
hoping that rigorous homework assignments which require several hours of study per week, and
which count substantially in the calculation of a course grade will help students to attend to this
problem. Again, we also think that a structured study hall would help students maintain or
develop a commitment to study outside of class.
Enrollments of 50 in most of our classes over the last two years have forced us to
abandon our program-level goal from 2007 of every student in every philosophy class producing
a successful argumentative essay. It is not possible for a single person to read so many papers
conscientiously. We consider this a rather serious failing of our program, and perhaps a
violation of state and federal regulations and an accreditation issue. Substantial homework
assignments can satisfy writing requirements in the quantitative sense, but they are not a
substitute for the dialogue between student and instructor which takes place when an instructor
makes individual comments on a student’s paper.
IV. Qualitative Analysis – Instructional
A. Describe future trends unique to your area that are likely to influence your discipline. How
will students be affected by these trends?
We expect the state budget problems to continue. Over the last four years, the shrinking budget
has led the district to cut class offerings and increase class section caps. This means that
individual philosophy instructors at Willow have most often taught classes in which more than
40 students have finished the course. The stress of grading 40 or more papers at a batch has led
19
us to conclude that for the foreseeable future it will not be feasible to assign substantial amounts
of (commented upon) writing work in PHIL 1, PHIL 1C, or PHIL 1D.
We expect that increasing numbers of our students will enroll at our institutions
underprepared for college work. Our response to this reality will be threefold: (1) a pedagogy
which emphasizes mastery of a smaller number of outcomes at the expense of instruction in a
larger number of outcomes; (2) increased use of student tutors selected by philosophy faculty
based on their performance in philosophy classes; (3) exploratory use of a mandatory study hall
for students who do poorly on a first exam or first paper.
B. Describe and include rationale for any curriculum changes anticipated in the next 5 years.
We would like to add additional honors courses to the program at Willow. The Willow honors
program is growing and has recently received a substantial funding commitment from a private
donor. Willow has a strong commitment to serving students who are talented and highly
motivated but cannot attend a four-year institution right out of high school.
We are also planning to review our PHIL 4 and consider deleting it from our curriculum.
It was developed to articulate with the Liberal Studies major at Fresno State, but it may no longer
serve that purpose. On the other hand, it may still be a useful course for Liberal Studies majors,
and the Willow Center may develop a Liberal Studies degree in anticipation of achieving college
status. We will continue to discuss this issue.
We will also continue to examine the possibility of placing prerequisites on some
philosophy courses. We think student success would increase significantly if successful
completion of English 1A was required to enroll in PHIL 1, PHIL 1C, and PHIL 1D. It would
also contribute to consistency of policy across the district, since most philosophy courses at
Fresno City require English 1A as a prerequisite.
C. Discuss how your program meets the needs of your students.
In addition to what we say under Part A of this section about our strategies to meet the needs of
underprepared students, we plan to create a two-year schedule to regularize our course offerings.
We think that every class should be taught at least once every two years, and at least once as a
night class during every two-year period.
Because of the availability of inexpensive editions online, we have been able to help our
students enjoy better access to required texts by posting them on Blackboard well in advance of
the first day of instruction. We will continue this practice.
The philosophy instructors of Willow are professionals who consider excellent
instruction their first obligation to their students and their community at large. The effort
required to satisfy this first obligation tends to ensure that all other professional obligations are
also satisfied.
V.
Summary Statement
A. Describe the major conclusions reached based on this report’s quantitative and qualitative
analyses and evaluation of the assessment of student learning outcomes.
Our assessments have shown that many students are deficient in basic knowledge or basic skills.
Many times they do not understand what is required to master a body of knowledge; or they
20
refuse to accept that such mastery requires a substantial expenditure of effort. Thus we have
reluctantly adopted a strategy of re-teaching and reinforcing course concepts throughout a
semester until students achieve mastery. Tutors make it possible to repeat and reinforce more
intensively and are therefore very useful in the implementation of this pedagogy; tutors should be
paid.
We think we do our students a disservice by teaching them in classes which in some
cases are as large as 55 students. Students require more individual attention to master the
outcomes of a course than we can give them with our increased section caps (this is especially
true of the writing outcomes). Thus it is one of our long-term goals to lower section caps in
PHIL 1, PHIL 1C, and PHIL 1D to 25. Our SLO assessments and our experience teaching under
higher section caps have led us to conclude that the most effective way to increase success in
these courses, insofar as success depends on the instructor and means real educational
achievement, is to lower section caps and increase prerequisites. On the other hand, the most
effective way to increase success in the purely quantitative sense of absolute numbers of students
who receive a C or better in a course is to maintain high caps and require no writing. But
success in the sense of real educational achievement will decrease under these conditions.
We have also concluded that a mandatory study hall would be an effective method of helping
students to develop good study habits early in their college careers, and could contribute
significantly to an increase in success and completion rates. The philosophy department cannot
implement such a program on its own, but we recommend it to the district as a policy worthy of
consideration. Thus we recommend that the following outcome be added at the institution-wide
level (GELOs): “Students will study two hours outside of class for every hour of in-class
instruction.”
Another issue for district-wide consideration is the extent of our use of part-time
instructors. Some students who have received a passing grade in English 1A are nevertheless
unprepared to write at the level required to succeed in Philosophy 2; and there seems to be a
correlation between lack of preparation for PHIL 2 and taking ENGL 1A from a part-time
instructor. The present writer compiled a list of the 22 students who have received a D or F in
his PHIL 2 over the three semesters from Spring 2011 to Spring 2012. 11 of these 22
unsuccessful students received an A or B in English 1A, and of these 11, 9 took English 1A from
a part-time instructor. A student who gets an A or a B in English 1A should not struggle terribly
in PHIL 2, which suggests that some of the part-time English 1A instructors may be awarding
inflated grades. We have discussed this problem within the Humanities Division at Willow.
There is consensus that English 1A should be a transformative course, and that overall quality of
instruction suffers when there is a heavy reliance on part-time instructors.
As mentioned under the Quantitative Analysis, we think enrollment and enrollment
growth at Willow merit an additional full-time philosophy hire for the Willow Center within five
years.
B. Based on the conclusions above, complete the table below. List goals in priority order,
including learning outcomes-related goals.
Goal(s)
(please provide the
section and page
Activities/Facilities/
Curriculum/Equipment
Necessary to Accomplish
21
Resources Needed,
Include Estimate
Costs
Proposed
Timeline
number(s) where this
goal is substantiated)
1. Install computers in
classrooms at the
Madera Center. (“Brief
Facilities Overview,” p.
4.)
2. Build paid
philosophy tutoring
programs at Willow,
Madera, and Oakhurst.
(“Ethnicity, General
Remarks, p. 13;
“Summary Statement,
A. Describe the major
conclusions … ,” p.
29.)
3. Lobby for lower
section caps.
(“Describe future
trends … ,” p. 28;
“Summary Statement,
p. 30.)
Goals *
Place this recommendation
in the strategic plan and
facilities plan for Madera.
Everything is in place
for smart classrooms
except the computers
themselves. $30,000$50,000.
$12,000 per year
(four tutors, four
hours per week at
$10 per hour for 18
weeks).
Computers
installed by
Fall 2014.
Access to administration
and union policy makers.
Access to
administration and
union policy makers.
Ongoing.
4. Lobby for a
Access to administration
mandatory study hall
and union policy makers.
policy enforced with
sanctions similar to
those used to enforce
the district’s mandatory
attendance
requirement.
(“Strategic objectives,
SCCCD,” p.5; “The
2009-2010 Reedley
Master Plan … ,” p. 8;
“Remarks for Willow,”
pp. 17-18; “C. Describe
any changes … ,” p.28;
“A. Describe future
trends … ,” p. 28-9;
“Summary Statement,”
p. 30.)
5. Hiring of one
additional full-time
philosophy instructor
Access to
administration and
union policy makers.
Ongoing.
Funding for one
FTEF, Schedule A.
2013-2017.
Seek a federal Department
of Education grant.
22
Apply for
grant by end
of Fall 2013.
for Willow. (“Total
Enrollment, General
Remarks,” p. 9;
“Summary Statement,”
p. 30.)
6. Add GELO
“Students will study a
minimum of two hours
outside of class for
every hour of in-class
instruction.”
(“Summary
Statement,” p. 21;
“Strategic Objectives,”
p. 5; “Reedley Master
Plan,” p. 8; “Success
Remarks,” pp. 12-14.)
Bring it to the College
Center Council.
23
None.
Approved by
Fall 2013.