Program Assessment Plan
Department Name: Psychology
Major: BA BS PSYCHOLOGY
Student Learning Goals:
Note #1: These undergraduate learning goals and outcomes were developed by the American Psychological Association
(Source: Task Force on Undergraduate Psychology Major Competencies. (2002, March). Undergraduate psychology
major learning goals and outcomes: A report. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association).
Note #2: The first five goals consist of knowledge, skills and values consistent with the science and application of
psychology. The second five goals consist of knowledge, skills, and values consistent with liberal arts education that are
further developed in psychology.
1.
Knowledge base of psychology—students will demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts, theoretical
perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in psychology.
2.
Research methods in psychology—students will understand and apply basic research methods in
psychology, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation.
3.
Critical thinking skills in psychology—students will respect and use critical and creative thinking,
skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to solve problems related to behavior and
mental processes.
4.
Application of psychology—students will understand and apply psychological principles to personal,
social, and organizational issues.
5.
Values in psychology—students will be able to weigh evidence, tolerate ambiguity, act ethically, and
reflect other values that are the underpinnings of psychology as a discipline.
6.
Information and technological literacy—students will demonstrate information competence and the ability
to use computers and other technology for many purposes.
7.
Communication skills—students will be able to communicate effectively in a variety of formats.
8.
Sociocultural and international awareness—students will recognize, understand, and respect the
complexity of sociocultural and international diversity.
9.
Personal development—students will develop insight into their own and others’ behavior and mental
process and apply effective strategies for self-management and self-improvement.
10.
Career planning and development—students will emerge from they major with realistic ideas about how to
implement their psychological knowledge, skills, and values in occupational pursuits in a variety of
settings.
Assessment Plan:
Assessment Measure:
Students enrolled in PSYC 489
Capstone Perspectives on
Psychology Issues participate in a
culminating experience for all
psychology majors.
Goals Addressed:
(list by number)
How is the information used?
By completing the Psychology curriculum,
students obtain a knowledge base of Psychology—
those not completing the minimum requirements
do not graduate with a Psychology degree.
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Assessment Measure:
Goals Addressed:
(list by number)
Outcomes from both PSYC 295
Statistical Methods and PSYC
321 Research Methods is used to
assess this learning goal.
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All courses in the psychology
curriculum focus on some aspect
of critical thinking skills. This is
easy for us to accomplish as we
scientifically study behavior and
mental processes.
3
Students achieve the goals of
application of psychology
through hands-on experiences in
the department, including student
participation as research
assistants and interns. Last year
alone our department generated
over 300 hours of internship
credits.
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Also an aspect of every course,
this outcome in particularly
emphasized in our PSYC 489
Capstone Perspectives on
Psychological Issues course.
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Students in PSYC 120
Introduction to the Psychology
Major are taught the basics of
searching Boise State’s Voyager
system as well as PsycINFO.
Students cannot pass the PSYC
120 class without achieving some
level of competency in these two
areas.
Most of the courses in the
undergraduate curriculum require
some sort of writing proficiency.
Manuscripts are prepared in
accordance with APA format.
For example, this is a central
theme for students enrolled in
PSYC 321 Research Methods, a
course required for every
psychology major.
How is the information used?
Every Psychology major is required to complete
both PSYC 295 Statistical Methods and PSYC 321
Research Methods. Additionally, we require
students to complete either PSYC 405 Advanced
Statistical Methods or PSYC 421 Psychological
Measurement. Often, students complete a service
learning component of a relevant course that helps
meet this outcome goal.
Given that Psychology is the scientific study of
behavior and mental processes, every course in our
curriculum uses this foundation as a method of
both communicating and having students practice
critical thinking skills. Often, students complete a
service learning component of a relevant course
that helps meet this outcome goal.
We provide students a number of opportunities to
actually apply psychological principles outside the
classroom. This occurs through PSYC 488
Directed Research in Psychology, PSYC 493
Internship, PSYC 495 Senior Thesis, and PSYC
496 Independent Study. We monitor these
enrollment numbers on a regular basis, and we
attempt to provide as many quality opportunities
as we can, given the available resources. Often,
students complete a service learning component of
a relevant course that helps meet this outcome
goal.
We envision every course in Psychology to teach
students, to some extent, the ability to weigh
evidence, tolerate ambiguity, and act ethically.
Courses such as PSYC 321 Research Methods and
PSYC 489 Capstone Perspectives on
Psychological Issues specifically address these
content areas. Often, students complete a service
learning component of a relevant course that helps
meet this outcome goal.
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Throughout the Psychology curriculum students
are assigned tasks that require the use of
computers and specialized software (e.g.,
PsycINFO, SSCI).
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Students throughout the curriculum are asked to
practice communication skills using a variety of
approaches, including group work, speeches,
group presentations, writing and revising
manuscripts, conference poster presentations, and
other options. Often, students complete a service
learning component of a relevant course that helps
meet this outcome goal.
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Assessment Measure:
We value both sociocultural and
international awareness in the
curriculum. To that end, we have
added PSYC 219 Cross-Cultural
Psychology, PSYC 229
Psychology of Gender, and
We utilize formal and informal
student reports, course
evaluations, and on occasion exit
interviews to determine our
success in students meeting their
personal goals. Also, we rely on
the outcomes of institutional
alumni services for feedback in
this area.
Successful completion of the
PSYC 120 Introduction to the
Psychology Major course gives
us some assurance that our
undergraduate majors are up-todate on career planning and
development. Additionally,
assignments started in PSYC 120
are continued in our capstone
course, PSYC 489.
Goals Addressed:
(list by number)
How is the information used?
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We hope that increased sensitivity to sociocultural
and international awareness is accomplished in all
courses; these topics seem more relevant to some
subject matter in Psychology than others. Often,
students complete a service learning component of
a relevant course that helps meet this outcome
goal.
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It is difficult to monitor student personal
development with 652 undergraduate majors and
80 students in our most recent graduating class.
We rely on student self-report through a variety of
means to indicate our progress on this goal. Often,
students complete a service learning component of
a relevant course that helps meet this outcome
goal.
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Students exit our PSYC 120 Introduction to the
Psychology Major course, with career planning
and development opportunities underway, and in
an innovative program, continue this work in their
capstone experience, PSYC 489 Capstone
Perspectives on Psychological Issues. This course
is required for all Psychology majors, including
transfer students. Often, students complete a
service learning component of a relevant course
that helps meet this outcome goal.
Updated: September 15, 2005
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