Program/Discipline: Psychology
Annual Program Review Update
Instructions
The Annual Update is conducted district-wide by each program/discipline and consists of
a) analysis of general changes, staffing, resources, facilities, equipment and other needs,
as well as b) reporting of curricular changes and outcomes assessment.
The questions on the subsequent pages are intended to assist you in planning for your
program or area. Input should be sought from all campuses. It should be submitted or
renewed every year by the designated date in anticipation of budget planning for the
next fiscal year.
Institutional data used to document program/discipline statistics and trends will be
provided by Institutional Research.
Please include pertinent documents such as student learning outcomes assessment reports
and data analysis to support any requests for new faculty, facilities, equipment, etc.
Retain this information for your discipline’s use,
Submit an electronic copy of your Annual Update Document and supporting data to the
Program Review Committee. Also submit a copy of these documents to your Division
Chair, Director, or Campus Lead Faculty.
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Annual Program Review Update
*Be sure to include information from all three campuses.
Program/Discipline: Psychology
Submitted by (names): Michelle Woods
Contact Information (phone and email): 476-4319; michelle-woods@redwoods.edu
Date: 10/13/2008
1. Program/Discipline Changes
Has there been any change in the status of your program or area since your last
Annual Update? (Have you shifted departments? Have new degrees or certificates
been created by your program? Have activities in other programs impacted your area
or program? For example, a new nursing program could cause greater demand for
life-science courses.)
Note: curricular changes should be addressed under 12 (Curriculum).
No (go to next question)
Yes Describe the changes below:
There has been a change to the curriculum that adds a Liberal Arts Associates
degree. Students are able to chose an emphasis in Behavioral and Social Sciences. This
change could equate to greater demand for the core courses within our department.
Introduction to Human Sexuality is a course that has been taught within the
Sociology discipline. The curriculum documents have been changed to include
psychology as a discipline that teaches this course. In looking at comparable
institutions, this course is ususally taught within the psychology department.
Currently 2 of the 3 sections offered on campus for Fall semester 2008 are taught
by a psychology instructor. The department plans on asking that curriculum
documents be changed to list the course in the psychology department. If this
course is moved permanently it would mean an increase of 3-4 sections of
psychology each semester.
2. Program/Discipline Trends
Refer to the data provided (data link is located at
http://inside.redwoods.edu/Assessment/ProgRev/InstructionalProgramReviewData.as
p) and describe the trends in enrollment, retention, success rates, and student
demographics. If applicable, describe how changes in these areas are impacting your
discipline and describe efforts within your area to address these impacts.
School Year
07-08
06-07
05-06
Total Enrollment FTES
1325
126.41
1205
119.01
1391
142.43
Retention % Change in Enrollment
89%
+9%
84%
-13%
86%
Success Rates:
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School Year
05-06
06-07
07-08
Course
Psych 1
Psych 11
Psych 30
Psych 33
Psych 38
Psych 40
Psych 1
Psych 11
Psych 30
Psych 33
Psych 38
Psych 1
Psych 11
Psych 30
Psych 33
Psych 38
A-C Credit
449 – 69%
127- 71%
92- 70%
273 – 71%
26 – 65%
1 – 100%
384 – 68%
103 – 61%
59 – 64%
230 – 65%
22 – 79%
405 – 68%
137 – 74%
50- 60%
291 – 70%
24 – 60%
D or no credit
205 – 31%
53-29%
39- 30%
113 – 29%
14 – 35%
177 – 32%
66 – 39%
33 – 36%
125 – 35%
6 – 21%
195 – 33%
47 – 26%
33 – 40%
127 – 30%
16 – 40%
The psychology department saw a 13% decrease in enrollment from the academic year of
05-06 to the next academic year. In 07-08 part of the decrease was recovered as we saw
an increase in enrollment of 9%. Student success rates have had a slight decline in the
academic years tracked from an average success percentage across courses of 69% in 0506 (not including Psych 40); 67% in 06-07; and 66% in 07-08. This average does not
appear to be statistically significant.
In the current academic year the department is attempting to again recover enrollment
losses of previous years. Two extra sections were added to the fall schedule compared to
the number of sections offered in spring of 08. In spring of 09 the plan is to add more
classes to the schedule that will include a Friday class in hopes of capturing students that
need courses offered at less standard times.
The department continues to have discussions about student success rates. Text book
assignment along with teaching techniques have been discussed in attempts to always
improve instruction and success of students.
3. Labor Market Review (for occupational programs)
Occupational programs must review their labor market data. Links to various reports
and information, as well as instructions on how to create program-specific reports,
can be found at http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Reports/LaborMarket.asp.
Institutional Research (IR) is available to help with surveys and reviews. All survey
data (whether collected by your program or the institution) should be sent to IR to be
kept on record.
a. Meets a documented labor market demand,
b. Does not represent duplication of other training programs (in the region), and
c. Is of demonstrated effectiveness as measured by the employment and
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completion success of its students.
4. Budget Resources
List your area’s budget for the following categories in the table below. Restricted
funds have a sponsor/grantor/donor (federal, state, local government, etc). The
funds are restricted by the sponsor/grantor/donor. Everything else is
unrestricted.
Category
Supply and printing budget
Equipment replacement
and repair budget
Professional Development
Work-study funding
Additional Budget Items
Unrestricted Funds
$457
Restricted Funds
0
0
0
Through Senate requests
0
0
0
0
Is the funding for these areas adequate?
Yes
No
If not, describe the impact of unaddressed needs on your discipline or program.
This budget is meeting the department's needs for printing, it does not met needs for
other instructional supplies. Multimedia sources are important in helping students to
understand key concepts. The above limited budget does not allow for the
department to continue to stay up to date with instructional supplies, our video library
is outdated by about 15 years. We are therefore requesting $2000.00 to purchase
updated DVD's, under equipment. The department also feels that it is important that
we have a designated area in the CA building to store multimedia supplies to allow
for all faculty to have equal access.
5. Learning Resource Center Resources
Is the level of resources provided by the Academic Support Center and Library
(Learning Resource Center) adequate.
Yes
No
If not, explain.
The LRC does a wonderful job providing services for our students with the
limited resources that they have available. Our department needs current
resources for our students to complete research projects. 1). The library should be
able to purchase new books frequently to present our students with recent research
in the areas that they are investigating. Since many of our students are not very
proficient at computer skills it important resources that in library resources
continue to be added. 2.) The psychology department would like the physical
book and professional journal collection to be continually improved. Our students
need to be presented with information in many different formats to enhance their
learning experience, including dvd's. 3.) More dvd's need to be purchased by the
library to provide factulty and students with classroom resources. The library has
been functioning with one full time librarian, this year adding an associate
librarian faculty. 4.) For students to continue to receive individual support from a
librarian it would be beneficial to have more available staff in this area. Tutoring
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services have been offered through the ASC in past years. These services have
been very helpful to students with the tutors being integrated into the classroom,
providing lectures on study skills and writing papers. 5.) Tutoring services
continue to be a need of students in the psychology department and it would be
helpful if more resources are added to this area.
6. Student Services Resources
Complete the following grid concerning Student Services Areas.
Student
Services
Does the area satisfy the needs of your discipline?
Area
There is a
connection to this
discipline/program
and YES the student
services area does
satisfy the needs of
the discipline.
There is a
connection to this
discipline/program
and NO the student
services area does
not satisfy the needs
of the discipline.
Uncertain about the
student service area
provided or how it
connects to this
discipline/program
Admissions and
Records
Counseling
Financial Aid
Career Services
Disabled
Student
Programs and
Services
(DSPS)
Extended
Opportunities
Programs and
Services
(EOPS)
CalWorks
Residence
Halls
Upward Bound
Student
Conduct
If a lack of support was indicated in the table above, describe your program/discipline
need.
Counseling:
Counseling services at the college appear to be not meeting the needs of our student
popluation. Students report that they are unable to get in to see a counselor in a timely
manner to schedule the classes that they need. This is very frustrating to students and
significantly hampers their success.
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Crisis Counseling:
This area is not specified on the form but is an area that the department sees student
need in. Every semester we have students in psychology classes that are experiencing
crises in their lives that are interfering with their abilities to be successful. These
events may include but is not limited to domestic violence, mental health issues,
suicidal thoughts or suicide of person close to them, substance abuse and or
homelessness. The department has maintained a list of community referrals to provide
for students, but much more support is needed. On campus support is critical as many
of our students do not have transportation available to them.
Career Center:
Students are very interested in obtaining career information. Many of our students
have not declared a major and are unsure of the long term goals of their education.
The services that the career center offers can help many students in determining their
long term goals and realistically examining their career path. The current resources
that we have available do not meet the needs of all of our students. Students need to
wait a long time to get an appointment in the center. The time that are able to spend
with a career counselor is also limited due to the resources available.
DSPS:
Many of our students have issues with test anxiety and reading disabilities that affect
their performance. These students may have not been successful in other educational
environments due to their limitations. Services on campus that help students identify
learning disabilities and make accomodations are invaluable to student success. DSPS
does a wonderful job currently with the students that they are able to serve. Expanded
services in this area would allow the campus to continue to grow the number of full
time students on campus; retaining more students..
Residence Halls:
It appears through interaction with students that our current residence halls are not
meeting all of the needs of our students. Students have stated that they are not able to
get a room and that they are trippling up to have a place to stay. With a growing
population of students coming from out of the area this is a continued need. Students
that are coming from out of the area also feel very isloated and lonely on campus,
particularly during weekends when they are cut off from Eureka. Bus scheduling may
help with this isolation and activities on campus to keep these students connected to a
community.
Student Conduct:
More resources are needed to help support students and faculty in this area. The loss
of a position that specifically handled working with students having a difficult time
maintaining appropriate classroom behavior has been felt on campus.
7. Faculty Resource Needs
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Complete the Faculty Employment Grids below (data link is provided at
http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Reports/EnrollmentFTES.asp).
Faculty Load Distribution in the Program
Discipline
Name
(e.g., Math,
English,
Accounting)
Total
Teaching
Load for
fall 2007
term
Psychology 88.78
% of
Total
Teaching
Load by
Full-Time
Faculty
% of Total
Teaching
Load Taught
by PartTime
Faculty
% Change
from fall
2006
% Change
from fall
2005
Explanations
and Additional
Information
(e.g.,
retirement,
reassignment,
etc.)
38%
63%
TLU
+9%; FT
+16%;
PT -15%
TLU 17%; FT
+15%;
PT -14%
Changes
have
occurred
due to a sick
leave and
new
appointment
of full time
faculty.
Faculty Load Distribution in the Program
Discipline
Name
(e.g., Math,
English,
Accounting)
Total
Teaching
Load for
spring
2008 term
Psychology 85.5
% of Total
Teaching
Load by
Full-Time
Faculty
% of Total
Teaching
Load Taught
by Part-Time
Faculty
% Change
from spring
2007
% Change
from spring
2006
Explanations
and
Additional
Information
(e.g.,
retirement,
reassignment,
etc.)
37%
63%
TLU -4%;
FT 19.5%;
PT+19.5%
TLU no
change;
FT
+4%;PT 4%
Full time
faculty was
on leave for
spring 08.
a. Describe the status of any approved, but unfilled full-time positions.
The Eureka campus is well staffed with 3 full time tenured faculty. One of the
full time faculty is currently on partial medical leave which is effecting the
current percentages. The Del Norte campus is beginning a search for a full time
faculty that would cover Psychology and Sociology. The Mendocino Coast
campus currently does not have a Full-Time Faculty member assigned to
psychology.
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b. If you are requesting a Full-Time Faculty position develop an attachment to
this report that addresses the following criteria (as listed in AR 305.03)
• The ratio of full-time to associate faculty
• Current availability of associate faculty
• Relation to program review recommendations
• Effect on diversity of the faculty
• Effect on academic offerings and ability to serve students and the
community
• Effect on the vitality and future direction of a program and/or the college
• Effect on student learning
c. If your Associate Faculty needs are not being met, describe your efforts to
recruit Associate faculty and/or describe barriers or limitations that prevent
retaining or recruiting Associate Faculty
The department's associate faculty needs on the Eureka Campus are currently
being met.
8. Staff Resources
Complete the Classified Staff Employment Grid below (please list full- and part-time
staff). This does not include faculty, managers, or administration positions. If a staff
position is shared with other areas/disciplines, estimate the fraction of their workload
dedicated to your area.
Staff Employed in the Program
Assignment
Full-time
Part-time staff
(e.g., Math,
(classified) staff (give number)
English)
(give number)
Gains over
Prior Year
Psychology
0
8% of a full
time position
Losses over Prior
Year (give reason:
retirement,
reassignment,
health, etc.)
0
Do you need more full-time of part-time classified staff?
yes
no
If yes, explain why.
The work load for our administrative support has continued to increase. When new
associate faculty are hired this adds more duties to this position to orient the faculty. We
have also seen an increased need to complete evaluations, this position has seen a
significant increase in work load to type up student evaluations.
Our department has taken a significant lead to distance education. The college is
currently lacking technological support for this program to operate effectively.
9. Facilities, and Classroom Technology
Are teaching facilities adequate for achieving the educational outcomes of this
Yes
No
discipline/program?
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If No was checked, complete and attach Facility Form (facilities.form) for each
instructional space that does not meet the needs of this discipline/program:
10. Equipment
Is the available equipment (other than classroom specific equipment described in the
facilities section) adequate to achieve the educational outcomes of your
Yes
No
program/discipline?
If No was checked, complete the following grid for each piece of equipment being
requested for this area/discipline:
Equipment
DVD's
Not exhaustive
list attached.
Approximate
Price
$2000.00
Number of
students using
equipment each
semester
Approximately
500
Describe how the equipment
allows achievement of
program/discipline educational
outcomes
The equipment will allow students
to visually examine concepts that
are being discussed in the
classroom. This media
encourages classroom discussions
and enhances the learning
experience.
Equipment Repair
Is the equipment used for your discipline/program in need of repair, which is outside your
current budget allotment? This does not include classroom specific equipment repair
Yes
No
described in the facilities section.
If Yes was checked, provide the following information to justify a budget allotment
request:
Equipment
requiring repair
Repair Cost /
Annual
maintenance
cost
Number of
students using
equipment each
semester
Describe how the equipment
allows achievement of
program/discipline educational
outcomes
11. Learning Outcomes Assessment Update.
List all expected program-level outcomes, whether you have completed the assessment loop
(use of results) or not. For each outcome, identify the means of assessment and the criteria
for success. Summarize the data that have been collected in the ‘Assessment Results’
column. If no data have been collected and analyzed for a particular outcome, use the
‘Assessment Results’ column to clarify when these data will be collected and analyzed. In
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the fourth column, indicate how the assessment results are being used to improve the
program.
Program Outcomes (Not all
disciplines have program-level
outcomes)
Means of
Assessment and
Performance
Criteria
Assessment Results Summary
Use of Results
List all course-level student learning outcomes for which some assessment activity
(assessment, analysis, or use of results) has taken place since the most recent program review,
and complete the table below as appropriate
Student Learning Outcomes
(course-level)
Means of
Assessment and
Performance
Criteria
Assessment Results Summary
Use of Results
Outcome # 12; Explain
the interaction between
heredity and the
environment.
Essay question
will be given
to students in
various
sections of
Psych 1 to
assess this
outcome.
Data will begin to be
collected the end of fall
semester 08.
The results will be
utilized to help the
department assess
students' awareness of
key concepts in
psychology.
Discuss the extent to which part-time faculty (if applicable) have been involved in the dialogue
about assessing student learning outcomes:
Part-time faculty have been very interested in this process and provided feedback
on what they feel is important to assess and how the outcome should be assessed.
They have been involved in deparment meetings through attendance or
communication via email.
12. Curriculum Update
Identify curricular revisions and innovations undertaken
a. in the last year.
All of the curriculum documents for the department are currently up to date.
Psych 199 and 99 were removed from the curriculum. These courses were special
topics in psychology. The courses can be added again if the need arises.
Currently, they are not being taught.
.
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b. planned for the coming year.
Human Sexuality has been taught in the Sociology department for many years.
Currently the course is dually listed on curriculum documents to include
psychology as a discipline that is able to teach the course. This course is very
frequently taught within the psychology department, exclusively, at comparable
institutions. The content of this course is in match with the discipline of
psychology. Currently 2 of the 3 sections offered on the Eureka campus are
taught by a full-time psychology faculty. It is the aim of the psychology
department to request a discipline change through the curriculum committee for
this course to be listed as a psychology course.
Complete the grid below. The course outline status report can be located at:
http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Reports/Curriculum/Curriculum_Course_Outlines.htm
Course
Psych 1
Psych 10
Psych 11
Psych 2
Psych 20
Psych 30
Psych 33
Psych 38
Psych 40
Year Course Outline Year Next Update
Last Updated
Expected
2006
2009
2007
2012
2006
2011
2007
2012
2006
2011
2007
2012
2007
2012
2007
2012
2007
2012
If the proposed course outlines updates from last year’s annual update (or
comprehensive review) were not completed, please explain why.
13. Communication
Are the current lines of administrative, faculty, and staff communication adequate to
meet the needs of this discipline/program? Describe representative example of
effective or ineffective communication.
Communication within the psychology department is effective. We are a small
department and are able to work together collaboratively.
The psychology department resides in the Arts, Languages, and Social Sciences
division. The division chair model has been effective for the department in regards to
allowing communication from the division chair to other levels of administration.
The current division chair is very effective in communicating campus wide
information on a regular basis. The chair is able to attend administrative and other
campus wide meetings and then communicate through email, in detail, the results of
the meeting. This has been very helpful to the department.
Communication with the branch campuses has been difficult at times due to the
different needs of the campuses, lack of full time faculty in the discipline and unclear
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lines of administration between campuses. Aa an example, because the distance
education lines of scheduling authority are not yet established, either the VP of Del
Northe campus or the Division Chair of ALSS submit online psychology courses
without communication.
14. Action Plans
List any action plans submitted since your last annual update. Describe the status of
the plans. If they were approved, describe how they have improved your area.
n/a
15. Goals and Plans
If you have recently undergone a comprehensive review, attach your Quality
Improvement Plan (QIP) if applicable.
QIP Attached
If you do not have a QIP, refer to the goals and plans from your previous annual
update. For each goal and/or plan, comment on the current status. List any new goals
and plans your area has for the coming year, and indicate how they are aligned with
the goals/objectives in CR’s Strategic Plan. (CR’s strategic plan is located on the web
at http://inside.redwoods.edu/StrategicPlanning/strategicplan.asp).
Goals from previous year will be maintained. The following is an update on the
progress of goals and plans fo the future year.
1. Developing an assessment method for measureing student learning outcomes: The
department has looked at the student learning outcomes currently in place and will
begin assessing one outcome from Introduction to Psychology. It is agreed upon
within the department that a good place to start with assessing student learning is to
examine their understanding of the interaction between heredity and environment
since this theme runs throughout our courses. This assessment will begin in fall 08.
The department is also discussing plans for assessment in the spring. One of the
outcomes that the department is discussing is how to assess writing abilities of our
students. We see this skill as signficantly important for our students to leave a
psychology course with. This process is stimulating more discussions about learning
outcomes and assessment within the department.
2. Increase course fill percentage: Our courses have been full at the beginning of the
semester and new sections have been offered to increase the students taking
psychology courses. In the spring we plan to offer a class at a non-standard time to
evaluate these need within our student population.
3. Improve student retention and student success: The department continues to work
on providing students with the skills required to be successful in the classroom. We
plan to continue these efforts through meetings with students, classroom presentations
and teaching strategies.
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Included is a list of DVD’s that we would like to order. The list is not exhaustive, other
items are desired and therefore more funds are being asked for.
All in the Mind: Understanding the Complexity of the Brain
Growing the Mind: How the Brain Develops
The Study of Memory
Battle of the Brains: The Case for Multiple Intelligences
Living with Alzheimer’s
The Difference Between Men and Women
At the Gates of Autism: Emerging into Life
Obeying or Resisting Authority: A Psychological Retrospective
Reviving Ophelia
Michael Kimmel: On Gender
Total of List
129.95
129.95
109.95
129.95
89.95
89.95
149.95
149.95
275.00
125.00
1379.60
Facilities, and Classroom Technology Form
Program/Disciplines: Psychology
Year: 2008
Submitted by: Michelle Woods
List classroom or instructional space name/number: CA 109
Check if any of the following are not adequate:
Ventilation /
room temp
ADA
access
Number of
seats / work
stations
Other (briefly describe):
Technology (computers, projectors, internet)
Describe the specific action and estimated cost (if available) to make this space adequate for
your instructional needs:
The projector and computer in this classroom are portable which can make it difficult to set up.
The screen is placed so that everyone in the room is not able to view the images on the screen.
The instructors teaching psychology in this room utilize the internet to supplement lectures.
The software on the computer in 109 is slow and outdated. It is recommended that the projector
be moved to be in a stable position to better accommodate all the students in the classroom. It
is also recommended that the software be upgraded on a regular schedule to allow for the most
optimal functioning of the computer that will enhance lectures.
List the average number of discipline/program sections scheduled in this room each semester,
and the total number of students enrolled in these sections.
Sections: 6
Students: Average 38 per section
Facility, Classroom Technology Form
11/4/2008
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Facilities, and Classroom Technology Form
Program/Disciplines: Psychology
Year: 2008
Submitted by: Michelle Woods
List classroom or instructional space name/number: CA 113
Check if any of the following are not adequate:
Ventilation /
room temp
ADA
access
Number of
seats / work
stations
Other (briefly describe):
Technology (computers, projectors, internet)
Describe the specific action and estimated cost (if available) to make this space adequate for
your instructional needs:
This classroom is a lecture hall that has attached seats. The desks are very old in this room and
are small, making it difficult for all of students to be comfortable in the seats. Currently we
only have 22 seats that have desks attached to them in this room. This makes it difficult for
students to take notes and tests. Students write on their laps and appear very uncomfortable.
Portable desks have been added to the front of the classroom in an attempt to help with this
issue. These desks are in the flat area of the classroom and very close to the screen that is used
to project lecture notes. The portable desks add to clutter and disarray in the classroom. It is
recommended that the desks in this room be replaced with wider, more comfortable seats that
have desks attached to them.
It is also recommended that the software on the computer be updated on a regular schedule to
allow faculty to utilize multimedia sources to enhance lectures.
List the average number of discipline/program sections scheduled in this room each semester,
and the total number of students enrolled in these sections.
Sections: 7
Students: 40
Facility, Classroom Technology Form
11/4/2008
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