2012-13
Truckee Meadows
Community College
Division of Liberal Arts
ANTHROPOLOGY
PROGRAM/UNIT REVIEW SELF STUDY
Anthropology
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM/UNIT
The associate of arts degree emphasis in anthropology is designed for students seeking careers in
anthropology or related fields. The degree requirements include general education requirements to gain a
breadth of knowledge in a wide array of disciplines. Students will also specialize in the theoretical,
methodological, and topical concerns of anthropology. This course of study is designed as a university
transfer degree or can be tailored for those wishing an emphasis in applied anthropology to gain the
practical knowledge to enter the workforce in entry level positions. The associate of arts degree emphasis
in anthropology is fully accepted at any four-year institution in the NSHE system and is fully transferable
to most four-year schools in the nation.
Mission Statement
The anthropology program supports student success by providing quality, affordable and accessible
educational opportunities in anthropology designed to serve the needs of our students. We prepare
students in a changing world by promoting an appreciation of the values and wisdom inherent in
culturally diverse societies and communities.
Degrees, Certificates, and/or Non-Credit Courses offered
Active: Associate of Arts, Anthropology Emphasis; Inactive: Certificate of Achievement in Applied
Anthropology/Cultural Diversity
Primary Goals and Objectives
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Students completing the emphasis will:
Understand skills and knowledge used by anthropologists so they can successfully transfer and
complete a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution.
Understand theories and methods used by anthropologists.
Discuss core concepts of the discipline including stewardship of cultural heritage, the differences
between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, and why anthropologists assert race as a social
construct.
Demonstrate an ability to conduct research, data analysis, and report writing on specific topics
within anthropology.
Support student completion through articulated degree requirements, effective student advisement,
and extracurricular and internship opportunities for anthropology degree seekers and by providing
course offerings that serve the scheduling needs of all of our students.
Improve course retention rates and in the process improve program retention.
Improve transfer rates of anthropology students to four-year institutions of higher education.
Sustain or improve course fill rates while simultaneously serving the needs of our diverse students.
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Factors Expected to Affect Future
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Increasing diversity in our local community and our rapidly changing world will broaden the
demand for a culturally aware workforce and an expanding focus on lifelong learning;
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2012-13
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PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
anthropology is ideally situated to prepare students in a wide array of disciplines to successfully
navigate in a culturally diverse and more interdependent global economy. This will have an
impact on timing of the reactivation of the diversity course certificate and possibly other jobsrelated certificates.
Learning materials are transitioning from hard copy to digital to improve student access; the
anthropology program intends to digitize the technical library in the Anthropology Teaching Lab
(RDMT 244) in order to achieve more efficient and effective access to academic resources by our
students. The ideal remodel of the Anthropology Teaching Lab is to reduce the total amount of
space now dedicated to library so that more appropriate lab tables can be substituted for the
current desks in order to more effectively demonstrate teaching materials in the lab classes.
An increasing emphasis on STEM courses will increase the demand for physical lab space and
more varied schedules for lab courses; The anthropology program plans to expand offerings to
include more online labs and more lab courses at satellite campuses (i.e. Meadowood).
Our current class fill rates averaging 96% the anthropology program have basically exhausted
their part-time instructor pool; an additional full-time faculty member is essential in order to
increase course offerings necessary to meet student demand and to respond to the needs of our
students through advisement and mentoring.
The increased emphasis on standardized college benchmarks during an economic downturn has
necessitated numerous reviews and revisions of program degree requirements to best balance the
needs of our anthropology students with external college demands on faculty workload.
Increasing paperwork demands (i.e. annual reports on assessment, complicated resource
acquisition processes for program and lab needs and ongoing program changes), an increased
emphasis on student advisement and facilitation of internships along with ongoing management
of the anthropology teaching lab is all incredibly time consuming and has become untenable
without compensated time to address some of these tasks. Therefore, to best serve the needs of
our students and to effectively respond to increased administrative demands on the anthropology
program, one course release per semester for the program coordinator is imperative.
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PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2012-13
CURRICULUM
Program/Unit Review Assessment Reports
2012-13
2011-12
2010-11
2009-10
2008-09
2007-08
2006-07
2005-06
2004-05
2003-04
2002-03
Discipline:
Anthropology
2001-02
List title(s) of
past
Program/Unit
Reviews;
indicate
programs
(degrees,
emphases, and
certificates) and
disciplines.
Degree/emphasis
: Associate of
Arts,
Anthropology
Emphasis
SS
PS
R
PS
R
PS
R
PSR
AAR
PSR
AAR
PDAR
SS
PDAR
PDAR
PDAR
PDAR
SS=Self Study; PSR=Annual Program Status Report; AAR= Annual Assessment Report; PDAR=Program and Discipline Assessment
Report
The TMCC anthropology program has course assessment data going back to 2002, Annual Program
Status Reports (PSRs) back to 2003, and Annual Assessment Reports back to 2006 when systematic
collection of assessment data was initiated by Vice President Jowel Laguerre. The 2006 report was a pilot
year for the anthropology program and the college; there was no clear format for the report until 2008
when it became the Program and Discipline Assessment Report (PDAR) which became the Courses
Assessment Report (CAR) in 2011. Earlier annual reports were more qualitative than quantitative and the
data analyzed varied as we developed at refine our measures. These reports have all been made available
to the Associate Dean of Assessment.
Course Assessment Report Summaries
Course
Number
Title
Most
Recent
Date of
Approved
CAR
Established
CAR
Assessment
Cycle
Date(s)
Assessment-driven Course
Modifications
SLO
Approval
Date
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Curriculum
2.1
SLO
Review
Due
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2012-13
Course
Number
Title
ANTH 101
Introduction to
Cultural
Anthropology
ANTH 102
Introduction to
Physical
Anthropology
ANTH 110L
Physical
Anthropology Lab
ANTH 198
Selected Topics
Most
Recent
Date of
Approved
CAR
Established
CAR
Assessment
Cycle
Date(s)
2009-10
F'11, S12,
F'12, S'13,
F'13, S'14,
F'14, S'15,
F'15, S'16
2009-10
F'11, S12,
F'12, S'13,
F'13, S'14,
F'14, S'15,
F'15, S'16
F'11, S12,
F'12, S'13,
F'13, S'14,
F'14, S'15,
F'15, S'16
Assessment-driven Course
Modifications
Sharing of teaching resources,
developed a common
assignment, and working on
standardization across
sections. Participation in the
2012 General Education Pilot
conducted by the Student
Learning Outcomes
Committee on General
Education assessment.
Continual refinement
necessary but no significant
changes overall to objectives
or measures needed.
New lab configuration due to
common course numbering.
Assessment developed to
encompass this change and
also in the process of
standardization.
Not offered during the selfstudy research period.
Attempted to offer one
section, Low enrollment
caused cancelation
Determined that perhaps
thematic offerings of existing
courses better option.
SLO
Approval
Date
SLO
Review
Due
6/12/2005
Yes
5/12/2009
Yes
5/5/2009
(combi
ned
with
102)
3/31/2010
Yes
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2012-13
Course
Number
ANTH 201
ANTH 202
Title
Peoples and Cultures
of the World
Archaeology
Most
Recent
Date of
Approved
CAR
2009-10
2009-10
Established
CAR
Assessment
Cycle
Date(s)
F'11, S12,
F'12, S'13,
F'13, S'14,
F'14, S'15,
F'15, S'16
F'11, S12,
F'12, S'13,
F'13, S'14,
F'14, S'15,
F'15, S'16
Assessment-driven Course
Modifications
Incredible changes in
curriculum dealing with this
course. We have realized the
need to infuse this course with
writing skills tutorials as
many of our students either
lack, or need reinforcing, of
writing and research
practices. Most instructors
complete library tours, give
instruction on writing and
research, and review other
basic skills. Also, as we
began to offer this as an
online section it proved
problematic for the initial
semesters to figure out how to
get the best work possible out
of our students. This was
evident in our findings from
the #2 measure. Working
with our librarians, and the
strong dedication of our parttime faculty we have seen the
online research component of
this course become
developed.
During the course of the selfstudy, there has been
increasing concern for the
assessment measures of this
course. These include relative
versus absolute dating and a
summary of a peer-reviewed
article. Measures are being
developed to better match our
program mission and assess
our core values, that being to
foster the necessity for
stewardship of cultural
resources past and present.
SLO
Approval
Date
SLO
Review
Due
6/12/2005
Yes
6/12/2005
Yes
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PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2012-13
Course
Number
Title
ANTH 205
Ethnic Groups in
Contemporary
Societies
ANTH 208
Fundamentals of
Cultural Diversity
ANTH 225
ANTH 226
ANTH 227
Most
Recent
Date of
Approved
CAR
2009-10
Fundamentals of
Applied
Anthropology
ANTH 279
Para-Professional
Skills in Social
Science
ANTH 281
Introduction to
Language
ANTH 290
Internship in
Anthropology
F'11, S12,
F'12, S'13,
F'13, S'14,
F'14, S'15,
F'15, S'16
F'11
Archaeological Field
Methods: Survey
Archaeological Field
Methods:
Excavation
Foundations of
Archaeological Lab
Methods
ANTH 229
Established
CAR
Assessment
Cycle
Date(s)
2009-10
SLO
Approval
Date
SLO
Review
Due
6/12/2005
Yes
4/4/2008
Yes
4/9/2005
Yes
Course not offered during
self-study review period.
4/9/2005
Yes
Course not offered during
self-study review period.
4/9/2005
Yes
6/12/2005
Yes
6/12/2005
Yes
1/11/2010
Yes
Fall 2012
Yes
Assessment-driven Course
Modifications
Assessment from this course
has been somewhat
problematic over the study
period. It is cross-listed
between ANTH and SOC and
at the time of the last program
review there was no standard
measure across these sections.
We are now collecting
assessment from all sections
but working on consistency
across sections.
A relatively new course.
Collecting assessment to
develop longitudinal
perspective.
Course not offered during
self-study review period.
This course was part of our
capstone year prior to
changing the degree to a
transfer-oriented degree.
Taught sequence ANTH 229
279 once during the self-study
period. Student cohort was
successful.
Capstone associated with 229.
The students prepared
research project on the Needs
of our Veteran Student. See
appendix C.
Course not offered during
self-study review period.
Learning outcomes and
measures established during
self-study period.
As the data above demonstrate the anthropology program has consistently collected data on every course
taught every semester. With few exceptions faculty collect data on their courses and report it to the
coordinator with a summary of how they are using these data to improve their courses. These data are
then incorporated into the annual assessment report for the discipline. Anthropology is proud to have
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2012-13
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
consistently taken a leadership role in assessment at TMCC, and plans to continue to do so in the future
for the benefit of the college, our program and most importantly to improve the instruction we provide our
students. Examples of assessment driven improvements are provided in the next section.
Assessment Driven Improvements
The following section will explore some of the longitudinal trends within each course section assessment
efforts and also some changes that we have instigated to deal with this trend. Anthropology has an active
assessment program and collects assessment data on all measures from all courses every single semester.
I. ANTH 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
ANTH 101 Outcome Measure #1: 75% of students will be able to distinguish between cultural
relativism and ethnocentrism in an exam short answer or essay.
Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentrism is measured through analysis of essays and short answers using
a rubric. Cultural relativism is a core concept of anthropology and there is more work to be done
especially in light of the fact that we are still below the 2009-2010 results. One issue with 101 sections is
the variety of instructors teaching the course and the wide array of means of assessment used by these
instructors. We are implementing standardized assessment techniques in all 101 sections though the
concept of cultural relativism and ethnocentrism are quite complex and multiple-choice options, such as
those used in psychology, are not sufficient to contemplate student learning of these difficult concepts.
Exploring the last three years of data includes the following average percentages for students achieving
this measure:
2009-2010— 87.17%
2010-2011—83.83%
2011-2012—86.53%
ANTH 101 Outcome Measure #2: 75% of students will identify “race” as a social construct rather than
a biological fact, in an exam short answer or an essay.
Social vs. Biological Construct of Race has been explored through a variety of means. In spring 2012
we used this outcome and measure as a focal point for our participation with a general education pilot that
was completed by the Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment Committee. For this pilot we came up
with a worksheet that was used in all sections taught by the full-time faculty. The standardized race
worksheet activity is being expanded to include part-time instructors. One problem is that instructors
designed the worksheet activity to be completed in a computer lab and we have run into facilities issues
whereby it is difficult for scheduling computer labs for this one-day exercise. At present we are using
total scores on the completed worksheet as our data. Race within our ANTH 101 course has consistently
been an area we need to improve upon. Exploring the last three years of data for this measure includes
the following average percentages for students achieving this measure:
2009-2010— 79.28%
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PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2010-2011—80.98%
2011-2012—75.51%
ANTH 101 Outcome Measure #3: 75% of students will compare social institutions (i.e. political,
religious, or economic) between two or more cultures in an essay.
Cross Cultural Comparison on Key Anthropological Topics is measured through a variety of means.
A problematic concern with this measure is that the intent to capture larger concepts and standardization
between course sections can sometimes become challenging. Basically we are attempting to analyze a
students’ ability to complete cross-cultural comparison on one of a wide array of different thematic areas
covered within the class. At this time best practices for evaluating essays include rubrics. Once a rubric is
established, ideally a group of faculty will evaluate the essays. This is an extremely labor intensive
process. Dr. Hammett developed a preliminary rubric this year and it will be considered as a standardized
instrument over the next two years. However, finding the time to set aside to evaluate a comparative pool
of essays from 101 classes remains a stumbling block. Perhaps the scope of this measure is too wide for
practical analysis. We are reviewing and revising this measure as we move forward. The last three years
of data for this measure include the following average percentages for students achieving this measure:
2009-2010—85.18%
2010-2011—72.44%
2011-2012—77.73
II. ANTH 102/110L Physical Anthropology and Physical Anthropology Lab
This course has had a major change over the last five years. At the time of the last review, we offered
ANTH 102 as a 4-credit course with a lab portion embedded in the class. We have now complied with
common course numbering and began offering it as a 3 + 1 configuration offering 102 (3 credits) + 1
110L (1 credit). As such we have just recently developed outcomes and measures for each of these
courses independently.
ANTH 102 Outcome Measure #1: 75% of students will differentiate between “race” and clinal
variation or biodiversity in an exam short answer or essay.
“Race” and Clinal Variation is measured through essays on exams. What is interesting is we have
watched a trend in the hybrid section. When we first started offering a hybrid section of this course,
student success was consistently lower in the hybrid section as compared to the live section. Now this
difference has stabilized and illustrates our closing the loop strategies have been effective. The last three
years of data for this measure include the following percentages for students achieving this measure:
2009-2010—86.23%
2010-2011—79.30%
2011-2012—88.7%
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ANTH 102 Outcome Measure #2: Successful students (in ANTH 102) will demonstrate their basic
knowledge and understanding of key areas within physical anthropology.
Key Areas are assessed through administering a pre and post-tests within all course sections of ANTH
102. Each semester the faculty improves the content of these. The last three years of data for this
measure include the following raw score percentages comparing pre and post-test performance:
2009-2010—Range of 43 to 72.9%
2010-2011—Range of 29.2 to 82.4%
2011-2012—Range of 26.4 to 87.5%
Increased variance within the ranges illustrates an improvement of student learning for those completing
the class.
ANTH 110L Outcome Measure #1: Students in ANTH 110L (Physical Anthropology laboratory) will
successfully use methods and models of the natural sciences to define, solve and evaluate a set of physical
anthropology problems.
General Knowledge is assessed through sections of the students’ lab reports. Anthropology faculty is in
the process of standardizing an essay required as part of one of the labs during the semester. It is our
intention to change the essay every few years so that we can explore student learning in each of the major
themes covered within the course (history of science, primate social behavior, human evolution, and
current trends in biological anthropology).
ANTH 110L Outcome Measure #2: Students will participate in lab exercises and assignments by
participating fully, and support their fellow team and class members through data sharing, assistance
and will work effectively as a team.
Lab Performance is assessed through lab exercises. Anthropology faculty uses different activities for
capturing student learning for this measure. One faculty focuses on a phylogeny exercise whereas another
instructor focuses on a lab practicum in assessing this measure. Regardless of technique, both capture
student understanding of the breadth of physical anthropology. The last three years of data for this
measure include the following average raw scores across sections for this measure:
2009-2010—99.12%
2010-2011—84.23%
2011-2012—85.70%
The significant decrease noticeable was the result of an improvement of our assessment technique.
Previously this measure was evaluated through completion and now it is graded on performance and thus
the improvement of our assessment efforts is the reason for this significant drop, not that student were
performing worse.
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2012-13
III. ANTH 201 Peoples and Cultures of the World
ANTH 201 Outcome Measure #1: 80% of the students will complete an essay that demonstrates their
knowledge of the role of colonialism in interactions between state and non-state peoples of the world.
Colonialism is measured typically through an exam essay question. Once again at this point our
evaluation of this measure is challenged by the crude nature of raw scores. A rubric for this measure has
be drafted by Drs. Hammett and Kies but it is difficult to carry out a reliable evaluation without being
able to set aside the time for a group of faculty to sit down and evaluate these essays. Measure
standardization is necessary to fully validate findings further as individual instructors use various means
of assessing this component. The last three years of data for this measure includes the following average
percentages for the raw scores:
2009-2010—87.67%
2010-2011—92.88%
2011-2012—86.51%
Dr. Hammett and Dr. Kies conducted an assessment pilot in 2010-2011 dealing with the colonialism
essays where they took a sample of student papers and used a standardized rubric to grade the selected
student papers. The purpose of this exercise was to determine how well rubrics might help to make
grading more objective. Taking the colonialism essay, Dr. Kies and Dr. Hammett both graded a sample of
a sample of student papers using the same rubric and then compared the results. The findings are
illustrated in the following charts:
60
50
40
Hammett
Kies
30
20
10
0
Excellent
Above Average
Average
Below Average Unacceptable
or Missing
Pilot Study Total Number of Points Total
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Within the above figure we can see that after grading a sample of 20 student assignments using a
standardized rubric that there is significant difference between the grading of the two individuals involved
within this pilot. Each nominal category is slightly differently expressed with Hammett grading essays
slightly more emphasizing the extremes where Kies grades less below average and also less excellent. By
deconstructing the different elements of the rubric we gain interesting insights into grading practices.
16
14
12
10
Hammet
Kies
8
6
4
2
0
Excellent
Above Average
Average
Below Average Unacceptable
or Missing
Cross Cultural Comparison
Compares 2 or more groups according to criteria outlined in the essay question
In terms of content, we see a great divide. Even though Kies and Hammett use the same rubric the
interpretation of the categories in terms of student performance vary significantly and may also be a
function that the student papers were pulled from Dr. Hammett’s class and thus knowing the individual
might explain this difference.
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2012-13
16
14
12
10
Hammett
Kies
8
6
4
2
0
Excellent
Above
Average
Average
Below
Average
Unacceptable
or Missing
Role of Colonialism
Discusses and Assesses role of Colonialism
This pilot will be expanded over the coming semesters to include part-time instructors. While rubrics
may not be completely objective they do provide some means of control better than we currently have in
terms of using research paper grades as an assessment. We continue to develop rubrics collectively and
individually to further increase our assessment efforts.
ANTH 201 Outcome Measure #2: 80% of the students will successfully write an ethnographic-style
paper, or papers, no less than 5 pages total, describing customs and issues related to a specific culture or
cultures of the world. Successful paper(s) will be properly formatted with accurate citation of collegelevel references and a complete list of references cited at the end.
The Research Paper assessment has been collected using the score that an individual receives on their
final paper. There is a need for a more meaningful means of assessing student research. But as the pilot
above illustrates, the process is labor intensive requiring a significant amount of time to do it correctly.
That said the numbers in this category are promising especially when compared to other research
measures discussed in this report (ANTH 202 measure #2). Exploring the last three years of data for this
measure includes the following average scores given on research papers across sections:
2009-2010—89.08%
2010-2011—89.22%
2011-2012—87.59%
IV. ANTH 202 Archaeology
Measures are being developed for ANTH 202 to better match our program mission.
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Outcome Measure #1: 75% of students will be able to distinguish between absolute dating and relative
dating in an exam short answer or essay.
Absolute and relative dating assessment has been the focus of much discussion within our program.
Several faculty members assert the need to revise this measure. Dating techniques are basic knowledge
and necessary, however is it the most important aspect that we want to focus on within an introductory
course to this subject? Other issues such as historic preservation may be more relevant. The program
faculty is exploring the possibility of developing a pre and post-test similar to the one used in ANTH
102/110L that would allow more holistic course assessment. Exploring the last three years of data for this
measure includes the following average scores on an essay concerning dating techniques:
2009-2010— 63.6%
2010-2011—63.13%
2011-2012—82.30%
The jump is noticeable within these data. It will be interesting to see if the trend returns in the coming
years to the low 60s or if the mean average is truly upward bound. The uptick could be the result that
between 2009 and 2011 we were in the process of expanding offerings. Perhaps part-time faculty getting
more experienced at teaching this course section.
Outcome Measure #2: 75% of students will write a summary of a published article written by an
archaeologist in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
Research Paper skills are essential to be successful in the social sciences and most other academic fields.
Many instructors observe how poorly prepared students are to conduct research and this measure is
intended to assess where students are in terms of research, writing, and synthesis of materials. Future
prerequisites might alleviate this problem but for now, it is significant that we see such a low average raw
score across our sections.
2009-2010— 77.8%
2010-2011—75.30%
2011-2012 —76.00%
There was an issue with library resources during spring 2012 however this is not sufficient enough to
explain this low average. Anthropology faculty is attempting different assignments to see if that might
help to improve these numbers.
V. ANTH 205 Ethnic Groups in Contemporary Society.
This course is cross-listed with Sociology. The data below are only from anthropology sections. We are in
the process of standardizing the assessment measures for this course.
ANTH 205 Outcome Measure #1: 75% of students will be able to distinguish between minority and
majority in an exam short answer or essay.
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Minority versus Majority, instructors have talked for some time about the need to update this measure.
It is vague in terms of what exactly we are assessing. Regardless we do see a relatively significant drop
over the last year. Discussion is occurring between full and part-time faculty to determine what might be
the overall reason for the decline. The average successful students across all course sections include the
following:
2009-2010— 81.36%
2010-2011—81.14%
2011-2012—73.86%
ANTH 205 Outcome Measure #2: 75% of students will distinguish between “race” and ethnicity in an
exam short answer or an essay.
“Race” and Ethnicity is measured through an essay on an exam. With this measure there has been a
significant drop in the raw scores of students across sections over time. Faculty will monitor assessment
numbers in the coming semesters to determine if some action is needed. The faculty is in the process of
contemplating how to improve student performance with this measure. It may be that the query itself is
too broad and thus discussion will occur about revising this measure over the next five years. Exploring
the last three years of data for this measure includes the following average raw scores given on an exam
essay across course sections:
2009-2010—83.88%
2010-2011—82.96%
2011-2012—71.20%
V. ANTH 208 Fundamentals of Cultural Diversity
The sample size for this course is much smaller than other anthropology courses discussed within this
report as we only recently, in 2011, began to offer this course again after a long hiatus. We now
consistently offer one section of this course each semester. Anthropology faculty will continue to collect
and analyze assessment findings. Anthropology faculty will revise these measures for clarity within the
next five years.
ANTH 208 Outcome Measure #1: Students will gain sensibilities towards diversity in its many
manifestations as crucial to the construction of self.
Identity Formation is measured typically through an exam essay. This measure focuses on how
individuals relate to their identity in terms of diversity issues such as ethnic, religious, and gendered
identities. Successful students complete an essay that discusses identity formation from one of the many
themes covered within the class. Standardization is less an issue with this class as compared to others
(such as ANTH 201 measure #1) because only one section of this course is offered each semester.
Exploring the last two years of data for this measure includes:
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2010-2011—73.6%
2011-2012—82.65%
ANTH 208 Outcome Measure #2: Students will recognize diversity in the workplace, community,
nation, and world and be able to express the richness inherent in environments that foster diversity of
individuals and ideas.
Diversity is measured through an exam essay. This measure focuses on students’ ability to contemplate
diversity in their lived environment. Interestingly similar to measure #1 there was a significant rise in
successful student averages. Exploring the last two years of data for this measure includes:
2010-2011—77.1%
2011-2012—89.45%
In spring semester 2013 there will be a new instructor for this course. It will be interesting to see what the
future findings will tell. Furthermore, with the current instructor there was talk of a need to improve the
wording of the course measures. In collaboration with the full- and part-time faculty, measures for 208
will be reviewed and revised within the next five years.
Evaluating Relevancy of Curriculum
Course Content
Course relevancy is constantly being evaluated. Exchange between full- and part-time instructors is
strong in terms of developing the curriculum and improving course content. Anthropology faculty takes
an active role in ensuring our best within the classroom.
Degree/Certificate Requirements
The associate of arts degree in anthropology is designed for students seeking careers in anthropology or
related fields. The degree requirements include general education requirements to gain a breadth of
knowledge in a wide array of disciplines. Students will also specialize in the theoretical, methodological,
and topical concerns of anthropology. This course of study is designed as a university transfer degree or
can be tailored for those wishing an emphasis in applied anthropology to gain the practical knowledge to
enter the workforce in entry level positions. The associate of arts degree is fully accepted at any four-year
institution in the NSHE system and is fully transferable to most four-year schools in the nation.
Emphasis Outcomes
Students completing the emphasis will:
• Understand the theory and methods used by anthropologists.
• Discuss core concepts of the discipline including stewardship of cultural heritage, the differences
between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, and why anthropologists assert race as a social
construct.
• Demonstrate an ability to conduct research, data analysis, and report writing on specific topics
within anthropology.
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General Education Requirements
Diversity (3 credits)
Recommended: ANTH/SOC 205 Ethnic Groups in Contemporary Society...............3
English 6 credits
ENG 101 and 102 or ENG 113 and 114.
Fine Arts 3 credits
Humanities 6 credits
Mathematics 3 credits
Science 3 credits
Social Science 9 credits
U.S. and Nevada Constitutions 3 credits
Total General Education Requirements 33 Credits
Emphasis Requirements
ANTH 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology................3
ANTH 102 Introduction to Physical Anthropology................3
ANTH 110L Physical Anthropology Laboratory......................1
ANTH 201 Peoples and Cultures of the World.......................3
ANTH 202 Archaeology........................................................3
Total Emphasis Requirements 13 Credits
Elective Requirements (to ensure minimum elective requirement) Choose 14 credits from the following:
Any ANTH 200 level anthropology course......0-14
Foreign Language ........................................0-14
AM 145, 146, 147, 148, 149; FREN 111, 112, 211, 212; GER 111, 112, 211, 212; HEB
113, 114, 221, 222; ITAL 113, 114, 213, 214; RUS 111, 112, 211, 212; SPAN 111, 112,
211, 212, 226, 227
PSY/SOC 210 Introduction to Statistical Methods.................... 4
Total Elective Requirements 14 Credits
Total Degree Requirements 60 Credits
Suggested Course Sequence: Each degree program is expected to provide a worksheet by which an
ideal student can plan their courses and complete their degree track within two years. However, it should
be noted that given the high number of students who begin TMCC with deficiencies to be completed
before beginning college-level coursework, and given the number of students who must work as well as
attend school, the idea of completing a 60-credit program in two years’ time is perhaps unrealistic for
many students. The college as a whole is examining these issues. It is partly because of this that many
anthropology instructors incorporate college skills in their classes. For example, anthropology courses
tend to be writing intensive so that instructors can help students learn what is expected of college-level
courses before they continue at the upper division level. Also these concerns have motivated the
anthropology program to take a leadership role in ensuring as many of our students as possible participate
in the President’s new scholarship internship program so our students can obtain some funding and job
skills while continuing with their college work. Both of these strategies are consistent with our program
mission (“...accessible educational opportunities in anthropology designed to serve the needs of our
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students”). The poor formatting of the table below (and also tables on pp. 25 and 46) are due to the
prefabricated nature of the report shell provided by the PDR Committee, which hopefully will be rectified
by the next reporting cycle. Taking these limitations into consideration the suggested sequence is listed
below:
Associate of Arts, Anthropology Emphasis
Course Prefix
Course Title
SEMESTER ONE
Emphasis
ANTH 101
Intro to Cult Anth
Foreign Language.
See approved list
Humanities
GE Elective
See approved list
Mathematic
GE Elective
See approved list
English
ENG 101 or 113 Composition I
Prerequisite
SEMESTER
TOTAL
SEMESTER TWO
Science
ANTH 102
Intro to Physical Anth
Emphasis
ANTH 110L
Physical Anth Lab
English
Foreign Language
U.S. and NV
Constitutions
ENG 102 or 114
Elective
Elective
Composition II
See approved list
See approved list
Take with ANTH
110L
Take with ANTH
102
ANTH 201
ANTH 281
GE Elective
Elective
Peoples/Cultures of the
World
Intro to Language
See approved list
See approved list
See advisor for transfer
elective course
Elective
ANTH 202
GE Elective
Elective
1
14
3
3
3
3
3
SEMESTER
TOTAL
SEMESTER FOUR
Emphasis
Fine Arts
Foreign Language
Elective
3
3
4
3
SEMESTER
TOTAL
SEMESTER
THREE
Emphasis/ Social
Science/ Diversity
Emphasis
Science
Foreign Language
Elective
Credits
3
4
3
3
3
3
16
Archaeology
See approved list
See approved list
See advisor for transfer
elective course
See advisor for transfer
elective course
15
3
3
3
3
3
SEMESTER
TOTAL
DEGREE TOTAL
15
60
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Methods of Instruction
The following serve as an example of some of the course level changes since the last self-study include
the following:

ANTH 102/110L
Physical anthropology ANTH 102/110 is now being offered as a hybrid. We had a consistent fill rate of a
single section of ANTH 102 semester after semester. Thus during this self-study period we experimented
with a hybrid offering where the lecture portion of the class is held online but the students do come to
campus for the lab sections. These sections have been popular with students as these sections always fill
rapidly after registration opens. There was an attempt to schedule a night section of 102/110L due to
student request. Unfortunately the semester when it was to pilot, class reduction requests from the Dean
caused this course to be removed from the course offerings for that semester. For future development a
night class would be a viable pursuit especially based off of student data gathered from the 2012 student
survey (see appendix B). Furthermore a course section at Meadowood might also be useful for students.

ANTH 202 Archaeology
Our archaeological offerings at the time of the last self-study were unstable in terms of
enrollment. We were lucky to have single section go, whereas at present we have expanded
offerings of this course significantly. We currently are consistently offering between 3-4 sections
of this course each semester. We also reinitiated an evening section of this course to best serve
students who work during the day and began an online section of this course. The student support
for this course has been evident based on fill rate data. A summer offering of ANTH 202 might
be an option for further development of this course.

ANTH 201 Cultures of the World
ANTH 201 goes online. During the self-study period we have taken a very popular class,
Cultures of the World, and now offer multiple sections of this course online. While it took a little
work to best translate the research portion of this class to an online format, the course has been
successful and is also now part of the TMCC Fast Track coursework.
Approximately 30 course sections are offered in anthropology serving over 800 students each
semester with the following breakdown of course sections being common:
15 sections of ANTH 101
2 sections of ANTH 102/110L
8 sections of ANTH 201
6 sections of ANTH 205
1 section of ANTH 208
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3 sections of ANTH 202
6 sections of ANTH 205
Faculty Qualifications
Julia E. Hammett, Ph.D.
Anthropology Professor, Anthropology Teaching Lab Director
Received her bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from San Jose State University (1980) and her
master of arts and doctoral degrees in anthropology from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
(1986 and 1991, respectively) with specialties in North American paleoethnobotany, ecological
anthropology, and North American archaeology. She has conducted research in four regions of North
America: the Southwest, California, the Southeast, and the Great Basin. Her research combines
ecological, archaeological, and historical data to investigate cultural landscapes and land use patterns.
She continues to collaborate with researchers in the San Francisco Bay Area in cooperation with the
Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and Stanford University. Currently she is pursuing research as a Citizen
Anthropologist in the Occupy movement that is sweeping cultures worldwide connected though social
media.
Thomas J. Kies, Ph.D.
Anthropology Professor, Social Science Chair
Received his bachelor of arts degree in liberal studies from Sheldon Jackson College (1995), his master
of arts in anthropology from Western Washington University (2000), and doctoral degree in
anthropology from the University of New Mexico (2006). Thomas has completed field research in
Alaska, Belize, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, and Mexico. His present research focuses on
handcrafting guitar artisans in Paracho, Mexico. His work investigates how this community of musical
instrument artisans is being impacted by global economic forces and how these artisan luthiers remain
competitive in the face of local and global industrial production. He posits that the viability of these
artisans revolves around their producing commodities with unique handcrafted qualities not replicable on
the factory floor. Workshop lives provide his context to explore the interconnectedness of aesthetics,
economics, and the global production politics emblematic of our time.
Suzanne Amodio
Part-Time Lecturer
Received her bachelor of arts in anthropology from University of California Berkeley (1993) with a
minor in Southeast Asian Studies and her master of arts (1997) and Ph.D. Candidacy (1999) in
anthropology from University of California San Diego. Her master's research on international migration
of women from the Philippines led to her ongoing dissertation study of the psychological and cognitive
effects of mothers' migration on children. Her interests include issues of identity, imagination (religion,
play, etc.), cross cultural human development, enculturation, and culture change. She has conducted
research in Indonesia (ethnic identity of Toba Batak, Sumatra), Malaysia (street artists as agents of
acculturation), and in the U.S. (theatre as ritual) and participated in group research in Zimbabwe (mother
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and infant health/nutrition), South Australia (ecology), and Borneo (orangutan behavior and
conservation).
Andy Carey
Part-time Lecturer
Received his bachelor of arts and masters of arts degrees in anthropology from the University of Nevada,
Reno (1991 and 1996, respectively). He conducted the archival research and prepared the documentation
for the permanent historic exhibit at the Pershing County Court House in Lovelock, Nevada. Mr. Carey is
currently completing his doctorate at University of New Mexico and teaches our online ANTH 101
courses.
Patrick T. Jackson
Part-time Lecturer
Received his bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from Portland State University (1990) and his
master of arts in anthropology from University of New Mexico (1994). He is currently completing his
doctorate in ethnology in the department of anthropology at University of New Mexico. Patrick has
conducted ethnographic research in Western and Central Mexico and various locations in the United
States. His research interests include the study of Mexican immigration and transmigration to the United
States, Latino settlement in the rural and ex-urban Western United States, racial and ethnic difference,
labor and social justice movements, gender identity and oral history. He is currently conducting ongoing
research on the settlement of Latino immigrants in the Pacific Northwest and is principal investigator for
a project documenting the oral history of a gentrifying neighborhood in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Arthur Krupicz
Part-time Lecturer
Received his bachelor of arts in anthropology from University of Maryland (1996) and his master of arts
in anthropology from University of Arkansas (2000) with emphasis in archaeology. His research and
practice have focused upon public education and outreach, particularly to children and young adults. Mr.
Krupicz has worked with numerous museums, including the American Museum of Natural History (New
York), Denver Museum of Nature and Science; and most recently he served as Executive Director of the
Children's Museum in Carson City, NV. In addition to his work in the non-profit sector, Mr. Krupicz
initiated a statewide, archaeological site steward program for the New Mexico Historic Preservation
Division (SHPO) and has conducted archaeological fieldwork in 20 states and the Caribbean.
Chrissina C. Burke
Part-Time Lecturer
Chrissina received her bachelor of science in anthropology from Michigan State University (2004) and
her master of arts in anthropology (2008) from Colorado State University. Currently she is a PhD student
at the University of Nevada, Reno and studies prehistoric archaeology with a focus in zooarchaeology.
Chrissina has archaeological research experience Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, California, and
Oregon. She has also excavated a Neandertal site in France.
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Jeanne Harrah Johnson, Ph.D.
Part-Time Lecturer
Received both her bachelor of arts degree in anthropology and her teaching degree from University of
California Berkeley (1978 and 1979 respectively) and her master of arts and doctoral degrees in folklore
with minors in anthropology and history, from Indiana University, Bloomington (1983 and 1992
respectively). Her research interests include the impact of festival, celebration and ritual, as well as
cultural and heritage tourism and its 'interpretation' on the community's values, issues of identity, and the
preservation and promotion of traditions. She specializes in public and applied folklore and historic
preservation, facilitating educational programs, exhibits, publications and special events on traditional
life and culture for individuals and community-based organizations.
Louis M. Holscher, Ph.D.
Part-Time Lecturer
Lou received his B.A. (1968), M.A. (1972) and Ph.D. (1975) from Washington State University. He
graduated Cum Laude from Arizona State University College of Law in 1986. Lou has more than thirty
years teaching experience, and has taught at San Jose State University, University of Arizona, and New
Mexico State University, plus a number of other universities. His teaching has focused on race and ethnic
relations, Chicana/o Studies, criminal justice and criminology. He has published widely in these areas,
and edited a book entitled, California's Changing Majority. Lou's current research examines Chicano
popular music over the past fifty years.
Lyndsey Langsdale
Part-Time Lecturer
Lyndsey Langsdale received her bachelor of arts in anthropology from the University of Nevada, Reno
with minors in Environmental Studies and Holocaust, Genocide and Peace Studies (2005). Her master of
arts degree in applied anthropology is from Northern Arizona University (2010), where she did applied
work in the fields of urban agriculture and community organization. Ms. Langsdale has worked and
conducted research in the American West, Central India, Guatemala, Panama, and Ecuador.
Margo Memmott
Part-time Lecturer
Margo Memmott received her Bachelor of Arts degrees in anthropology and German from Utah State
University (1997) and her Master of Arts degree in anthropology from University of Nevada, Reno
(2004). While studying in the University of Nevada, Reno, she served as President of the Anthropology
Student Association for two years. Her thesis was on the excavation of the archaeological remains below
the auditorium floor of Piper's Opera House. In her thesis, she defines an "opera house" archaeological
pattern and draws analogy between the Victorian parlor and opera house. Ms Memmott has thirteen years
of professional experience doing archaeology for cultural resource management projects throughout the
American West. She enjoys public archaeology and has worked on Comstock Archaeology Center
Projects in Virginia City and a US Forest Service Passport in Time (PIT) Project in Verdi, Nevada. She
also participates in public school career days, and the University of Nevada's ASCENT mentor program.
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Teresa A. Wriston, M.A., RPA
Part-time Lecturer
Received her Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology with a minor in history from Colorado State
University (1996), and her Master of Arts degree with an emphasis in Environmental Archaeology
(2003) from the University of Nevada, Reno (where she is also currently working on her doctorate). She
is a geoarchaeologist with fifteen years of cultural resource management experience throughout the
desert west. Her doctoral research involves reconstructing environmental conditions in western
Zimbabwe during the Late Stone Age to Early Iron Age transition. Other research interests include:
prehistoric hunters-and-gatherers, ethnohistoric archaeology, peopling of the New World, climate change
adaptations, and Complex Systems Theory.
John D. Etchemendy
Part-time Lecturer
John received his B.A. in Business Management from University of New Orleans (1999) and his M.A. in
Conflict Transformation with a focus on development from SIT Graduate Institute (2010). His Master's
thesis analyzed NATO stability, development, and civil-military cooperation initiatives in Kosovo to
determine their impact on multiethnic relationships. John's field research focuses on transforming
intercultural and interethnic conflicts by developing stakeholder communication skills, creating multitrack working groups, and helping to identify and formalize indigenous dispute resolution mechanisms.
In the U.S., John has helped facilitate workshops on interethnic communication, mediation and problemsolving for development professionals drawn from nearly every continent. He has also traveled and
worked in forty-four different countries over the last two decades, including serving eight years in the
U.S. Army and U.S. Army National Guard.
Post Completion Objectives (transfer, job placement, etc.)
From data collected from students during the 2012 student survey the following results were tallied. Out
of a total of 9 responses UNR is the most common place of transfer with 65% transferring there. Other
destination institutions include UNLV, UC Santa Barbara, and the Career College of Northern Nevada
(see appendix B for full student survey data).
Our students do well from anecdotal evidence from our colleagues at other institutions throughout our
state. Many of our students go on to complete their BA coursework at the University of Nevada Reno.
Several have found full-time careers in Cultural Resource Management firms such as with ASM Affiliates
of Reno. Others are continuing on to graduate school pursuing Masters and a recent alumnus is nearly
ABD at University of Iowa after completing Master’s work at New Mexico State University.
Secondary Student Preparation Efforts


Anthropology takes part in the annual High School Welcome event
Support efforts of the TMCC High School
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External Review
External Review is not required or applicable for anthropology. However, each year we report enrollment
numbers by gender and numbers of graduates to the American Anthropological Association. These data
are reported in their Annual Guide of Departments known as AnthroGuide
(http://www.aaanet.org/publications/guide.cfm) . We also respond to all surveys from the AAA.
Non-credit Training Offered
Over the years, the anthropology program at TMCC has offered a variety of credit and non-credit training
opportunities for our students in the form of field experiences in cooperation with our partners. Given the
limited staffing and recent increases in bureaucratic workload, however, these types of extracurricular
events are becoming increasingly problematic.

We encourage our students to sign up for academic credit for experiential opportunities (ANTH 291)
but sometimes certain opportunities present themselves from our community partners and we offer
them to our current and recent students. These can also be considered non-credit training
opportunities.
o NV BLM archaeological survey (May 2001)
o NV BLM archaeological survey (June 2002):
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o
Stanford Preserve archaeological excavations (January 1999):
o
Stanford Hopkins Marine Station archaeological excavations (June 2003):
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o

PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
Stanford Gym Dig archaeological excavations July 2009:
We encourage our current and former students to attend nearby conferences. Before these conferences
we help them to prepare, polish their resumes, and explain what to expect. At the conference we serve
as on-site mentors helping them to learn the ropes of attending a professional conference and to
establish contacts in the fields.
o Southwestern Anthropological Association (2004) - San Jose - 4 students
o American Anthropological Association (2008) – San Francisco - 1 recent graduate
o Southwestern Anthropological Association (2010) – Reno – 8 students
o Southwestern Anthropological Association (2011) – Reno 4 students
o Society for American Archaeology (2011) – Sacramento – 2 students
Curriculum Strategic Plan
Assessment Findings and Strategies
Curriculum Plan

In our continued review of outcomes and measures the most noticeable need for revisions are
for the following: ANTH 101 Measure #3, ANTH 202 measure #1, SOC/ANTH 205 section
consistency between SOC and ANTH sections; refinement in measures for ANTH 208. To
address these issues we recommend revising the most problematic outcomes and measures first
and then to review all others so that all courses will be reviewed and revised as needed within
the next five years. Continue to review course-specific and program outcomes and assessment
measures for currency in the field and a direct connection to anthropology program mission and
goals. Ensure that all course outcomes and measures are reviewed and revised as needed over
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




the next five-year cycle.
Develop a feasible and ideally a statistically meaningful way to assess research papers. As our
pilot suggests, we need further discussion of how to best assess the research and writing of our
students. Our next step will be to expand the pilot study completed by full-time instructors to
include part-time faculty in the sampling and assessing of student work.
Program assessment criteria replacement needed. Due to enrollment minimums imposed by the
administration, it was no longer feasible to offer our capstone course sequence as a graduation
requirement in the anthropology program. This meant the loss of the related research project and
individual student portfolios that served as a key component to our program assessment. A
priority for our program assessment is now to develop a new specific means for evaluating
students without a capstone course sequence. We are currently conferring with colleagues in
other disciplines to develop a strategy for evaluating specific students.
With the new general education changes that take effect Fall 2013, we will be for the first time a
four-field anthropology program by requiring students to take ANTH 281: Introduction to
Language. Over the next five years we plan to evaluate the impact that this programmatic
change has for our students.
Continue to evaluate all course offerings and adjust to meet the diverse scheduling needs of our
students; evaluate the feasibility of expanding ANTH 102 (i.e. include an evening section,
develop a fully online section of this course, or offer a Meadowood section by utilization of
non-FTE dedicated room space).
Complete a needs assessment for the reactivation or reconfiguration of our applied
anthropology/cultural diversity certificate and complete needs assessment for an archaeology
technician certificate.
Outcome Review Plan
Courses to
Review
Evaluation of Existing Outcomes
Timeline
CAR Assessment
Cycle
ANTH 101
Review measure #3
2013-14
Ongoing
ANTH 110L
Review in terms of associated ANTH 102
2013-14
Ongoing
ANTH 202
Review measures for holistic capture
2013-14
Ongoing
ANTH 208
Review measures for clarity
2013-14
Ongoing
Select measures within ANTH 101, 110L, 202 and 208 need revising and it is estimated that some
action will be taken during the 2013-2014. Other measures need updating in content, wording, or both.
External Resource Recommendations and Implementation Plans
Anthropology has worked with a number of associated projects that have sought external funding,
however we do readily partner with other institutions and programs to share space, instructional
materials and collections for the benefit of our students. For example Drs. Hammett and Kies were
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PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
involved as guest speakers for the Nevada Humanities Global Lens Series. In 2011 we were also
greatly involved with the TMCC guest speaker series when the committee brought world renowned
paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson to campus. In addition our students have worked on
archaeological projects at Stanford University, in North Carolina for the Schiele Museum and with
Nevada Bureau of Land Management. We will continue to seek out funding opportunities for our
students so that we can fulfill of our mission objective of a cost effective quality education value for
our students. In terms of long-term goals, external funding sources may become more important in the
future. Also we plan to explore student and employer interest in an archaeology technician certificate
to help prepare them with job-ready skills.
Donald Johanson, Lucy, and TMCC anthropologists
Anticipated Factors Affecting Curriculum and Strategies

Economic Downturn— The persisting economic downturn has had an impact on our curriculum
strategy. Financial pressures cause increases in minimum numbers which resulted in the need to
eliminate the required two-course capstone sequence which has had an effect on our ability to
evaluate students going for the anthropology associate degree emphasis. Given economic realities
we want to be conservative in any expansion, recruitment or other growth-based plans while
really contemplating our core mission and values. At the same time, we want to serve the students
who enroll in our courses and seek our degree emphasis to the best of our abilities. Our upcoming
needs assessments for reactivating our diversity certificate and a possible new archaeology tech
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

PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
certificate will be conducted with a prudent sense of fiscal conservatism. We strive to prepare our
students with job-ready and academic skills for their upper division courses and their professional
careers. But we will propose expansions only if there are solid indications that our enrollment
numbers can support these steps.
Internship—Reevaluate internship in enabling students to gain important real world experience.
This was a requirement prior to 2010; however, to accommodate more seamless transfer, we
discontinued it as a requirement. We are currently reemphasizing paid internship opportunities
because of a high number of students who need outside employment and the current availability
of a newly funded internship scholarship program recently begun by TMCC President Sheehan.
Our students benefit from training opportunities tailored to their interests which help them to keep
on track while also helping our program to achieve our goals for improving completion rates. For
example, in spring 2012, three anthropology students took part in the new President-supported
internships programs. One student worked with a local non-profit focusing on the homeless, a
second student worked with Bureau of Land Management archaeologists in Carson City, and yet
another worked for an international development agency developing a granting foundation
database. Continuing support of internship provides invaluable experiences for our students. All
three of those students have now successfully transition to four-year schools. For the coming
spring semester we have tentatively established a new internship partnership with the Director of
Publishing for American Anthropological Association to digitize technical reports (gray
literature) within our TMCC Anthropology Teaching Lab library with the end goal of donating
the resulting PDFs to the AAA.
Assessment Plan—Assessment is progressing well within anthropology. We continue to do more
than is required by the college because of a firm belief collectively in the benefits of assessment.
Anthropology collects all measures in all courses every semester. That said there is still plenty of
room for improvement to better refine our assessment efforts and better serve our students.
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DEMOGRAPHICS AND ENROLLMENT
General Student Demographics
Age
5 -year Average Headcount
Anthropology
TMCC
54% 54%
29%
24%
13%
8%
2%
Under 18 yrs.
Fall 07
Spr 08
Fall 08
Spr 09
Fall 09
Spr 10
Fall 10
Spr 11
Fall 11
Spr 12
ANTH Avg
TMCC Avg
7%
2%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
%
%
18-24 yrs.
25-34 yrs.
35-49 yrs.
Under 18 yrs. 18-24 yrs. 25-34 yrs. 35-49 yrs.
1
16
6
3
3%
55%
21%
10%
1
20
7
2
3%
61%
21%
6%
1
24
10
1
3%
62%
26%
3%
1
23
8
2
3%
64%
22%
6%
2
22
9
4
5%
55%
23%
10%
2
21
12
3
5%
51%
29%
7%
0
25
23
6
0%
44%
40%
11%
0
24
15
6
0%
50%
31%
13%
0
28
14
4
0%
57%
29%
8%
0
21
17
4
0%
49%
40%
9%
2%
54%
29%
8%
2%
54%
24%
13%
6%
50+ yrs.
50+ yrs.
3
10%
3
9%
3
8%
2
6%
3
8%
3
7%
3
5%
3
6%
3
6%
1
2%
7%
6%
Total
29
100%
33
100%
39
100%
36
100%
40
100%
41
100%
57
100%
48
100%
49
100%
43
100%
100%
100%
In terms of age cohorts there are slightly more students in anthropology between 25-34 years of age,
and somewhat fewer students between 35-49 years of age, but overall there is no significant difference
between anthropology and the rest of the college.
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2012-13
Gender
5-year Average Headcount
Anthropology
TMCC
67%
56%
44%
33%
Female
15
17
Female
Fall 07
Spr 08
Fall 08
Spr 09
Fall 09
Spr 10
Fall 10
Spr 11
Fall 11
Spr 12
ANTH Avg
TMCC Avg
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
%
%
Male
Male
21
72%
20
61%
29
74%
26
72%
29
73%
27
66%
39
68%
31
65%
31
63%
27
63%
67%
56%
Unreported
8
28%
13
39%
10
26%
10
28%
11
28%
14
34%
18
32%
17
35%
18
37%
16
37%
33%
44%
Total
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
<1%
0%
29
100%
33
100%
39
100%
36
100%
40
100%
41
100%
57
100%
48
100%
49
100%
43
100%
100%
100%
Anthropology courses tend to draw somewhat more female and less male students than the college
overall. This seems logical because generally speaking more female than male students tend to take
anthropology courses, based on national data. In 2009 a study entitled The Changing Face of
Anthropology revealed that 60% of American Anthropological Association members are women and 2/3
of the respondents with a MA degree were women
(http://www.aaanet.org/resources/departments/upload/ChangingFaceofAnthropologyFinal.pdf). In
2006/07 women received over 57.8 % of doctorates in anthropology in U.S. Canada, United Kingdom,
Mexico and Finland according to Work Climate, Gender, and the Status of
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.2
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2012-13
Practicing Anthropologists in a report commissioned by the Committee on the Status of Women in
Anthropology (COWSA) and prepared by the AAA
(http://www.aaanet.org/resources/departments/upload/ES_COSWA-2009REPORT-2.pdf) .
Ethnicity
5-year Average Headcount
Anthropology
TMCC
67% 67%
16% 16%
2% 3%
African
American
2%
6%
Asian
Hawaiian or
Pacific
Islander
6%
2% 2%
0% 1%
Hispanic
Native
American
White
2%
Two or more
races
0% 1%
International
Students
5% 3%
Unreported
African
Asian Hawaiian Hispanic Native
White
Two or
InterUnTotal
Fall N
1
1
3
0
21
0
3
29
07 %
3%
3%
10%
0%
72%
0%
10%
100%
Spr N
1
1
6
1
19
0
5
33
08 %
3%
3%
18%
3%
58%
0%
15%
100%
Fall N
1
0
5
1
27
0
5
39
08 %
3%
0%
13%
3%
69%
0%
13%
100%
Spr N
1
2
4
1
26
0
2
36
09 %
3%
6%
11%
3%
72%
0%
6%
100%
Fall N
1
0
1
4
0
30
3
0
1
40
09 %
3%
0%
3%
10%
0%
75%
8%
0%
3%
100%
Spr N
1
0
0
4
0
30
5
0
1
41
10 %
2%
0%
0%
10%
0%
73%
12%
0%
2%
100%
Fall N
2
1
0
8
2
40
3
0
1
57
10 %
4%
2%
0%
14%
4%
70%
5%
0%
2%
100%
0
0
0
9
2
32
4
0
1
48
Spr N
11 %
0%
0%
0%
19%
4%
67%
8%
0%
2%
100%
Fall N
0
1
0
13
0
29
5
0
1
49
11 %
0%
2%
0%
27%
0%
59%
10%
0%
2%
100%
Spr N
2
1
0
10
0
25
4
0
1
43
5%
2%
0%
23%
0%
58%
9%
0%
2%
100%
12 %
ANTH Avg
2%
2%
<1%
16%
2%
67%
6%
<1%
5%
100%
TMCC Avg
3%
6%
0.6%
16%
2%
67%
2%
1%
3%
100%
Note: Ethnicity categories were changed in Fall 2009 to align with new IPEDS and NSHE reporting requirements.
Overall our ethnic distribution is strikingly similar to a school as a whole. This suggests that if there is
a need to change the current percentages the strategy should be developed at the college, not the
discipline level. Compared to the last self-study report we have made remarkable improvement. In
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.3
2012-13
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2009, our enrollment for Latinos in our AA emphasis was 24% for the Certificate of Achievement,
11% for the AA and 12% for combined AA and CA as compared with TMCC overall 11%. It was one
of the goals of our 2009 program review to improve on enrollments for Latinos. That goal has been
achieved for the anthropology program and for TMCC overall, however, there is still a significant way
to go, because as our enrollments have increased so has the percentage of Latinos in Washoe County
(n=23%) and Nevada (n=27%) as of September 2012. In 2009, the percentage of Latinos in Washoe
County was 21% and the percentage for anthropology and for TMCC was 11%, therefore, it could be
argued our progress has been significant and our prospects for achieving full parity in the future is
hopeful.
Recommendation: Continue to monitor demographic trends and strive to maintain parity with the
college and to reach out in terms of student recruitment and service to our diverse community. When
compared with the TMCC 2012 Fact Book, p. EE-3 TMCC still needs to improve our overall Latino
enrollments by about 4%.
As a final note, it is unclear what the college administration is attempting to measure or achieve with
their category of “two-races” but it is potentially insensitive and certainly problematic on several
levels. It is a new measure, and it seems counterintuitive because it reinforces a false category (race)
and its hermeneutic value is limited and outdated. Therefore, we recommend this category no longer be
interspersed in the ethnic data calculations.
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.4
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2012-13
Student Status
Educational Goals
5-year Average Headcount
ANTH
TMCC
89%
77%
2%
Earn a Degree
Fall 07
Spr 08
Fall 08
Spr 09
Fall 09
Spr 10
Fall 10
Spr 11
Fall 11
Spr 12
ANTH Avg
TMCC Avg
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
%
%
5%
0%
2%
Earn a Certificate Improve Job Skills
Earn a
376
85%
383
87%
455
86%
488
87%
531
84%
549
87%
570
93%
666
94%
720
93%
678
93%
89%
77%
Earn a
13
3%
9
2%
18
3%
18
3%
21
3%
20
3%
7
1%
12
2%
14
2%
13
2%
2%
5%
Improve Job
1
0%
1
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
2
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0%
2%
5%
10%
Personal
Enrichment
Personal
28
6%
37
8%
39
7%
33
6%
56
9%
36
6%
23
4%
19
3%
21
3%
27
4%
5%
10%
3%
2%
Transfer
Transfer
6
1%
5
1%
10
2%
7
1%
13
2%
15
2%
10
2%
15
2%
17
2%
14
2%
2%
3%
1%
2%
Undecided
Undecided
17
4%
5
1%
6
1%
13
2%
10
2%
8
1%
1
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
1%
2%
Total
441
100%
440
100%
528
100%
559
100%
631
100%
630
100%
611
100%
712
100%
772
100%
732
100%
100%
100%
It comes as no surprise that the great majority of our students are degree seeking. Our recent student
feedback survey indicated that 73% of respondents were degree-seeking but over a third of them
intended to transfer to a four-year school without an associate degree in hand (see appendix B). For
anthropologists to be able to practice in the field they must have a minimum of a Bachelor’s, preferably
a Master’s degree or doctorate. Therefore, although many students are encouraged by college student
advisers to seek a degree, their intent is to obtain that diploma at the four-year or graduate level.
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.5
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2012-13
Educational Status
5-year Average Headcount
Anthropology
81%
78%
8%
Continuing Students
Fall 07
Spr 08
Fall 08
Spr 09
Fall 09
Spr 10
Fall 10
Spr 11
Fall 11
Spr 12
ANTH Avg
TMCC Avg
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
%
%
TMCC
Continuing Students
22
76%
29
88%
25
64%
33
92%
30
75%
35
85%
41
72%
45
94%
42
86%
36
84%
81%
78%
9%
10%
New Transfers
New Transfers
2
7%
2
6%
6
15%
1
3%
5
13%
2
5%
6
11%
3
6%
1
2%
6
14%
8%
9%
13%
New Students
New Students
Total
5
17%
2
6%
8
21%
2
6%
5
13%
4
10%
10
18%
0
0%
6
12%
1
2%
10%
13%
29
100%
33
100%
39
100%
36
100%
40
100%
41
100%
57
100%
48
100%
49
100%
43
100%
100%
100%
Anthropology looks strikingly similar to the college at large in this area, and is strategically positioned
to offer a low-cost, high value degree for students according to our program mission. From our recent
student feedback survey (see appendix B) we learned that most respondents (n=63%) found their
anthropology course work was “significantly” or “extremely” useful for completing other college
courses and of those who have transferred 72% found TMCC anthropology were “significantly” or
“extremely” useful for their transfer work. Four out of five of our students who have gone on to
graduate work also found our courses “significantly” or “extremely” useful within their current
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.6
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2012-13
programs. Almost all (n=92%) found their TMCC anthropology courses to be “significantly” or
“extremely” useful for “general fulfillment of lifelong learning.” The anthropology program plans to
do a study in the near future to evaluate the cost of textbooks and lab fees with other degree emphases
at TMCC. Our hypothesis is that we provide the best-cost value and one of the highest quality
programs for a student seeking a transfer degree.
Enrollment Status
5-year Average Headcount
Anthropology
TMCC
48%
39%
23%
21%
18%
15%
12+
Fall 07
Spr 08
Fall 08
Spr 09
Fall 09
Spr 10
Fall 10
Spr 11
Fall 11
Spr 12
ANTH Avg
TMCC Avg
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
%
%
14%
9-11.9
12+
8
28%
7
21%
5
13%
4
11%
12
30%
9
22%
8
14%
11
23%
11
22%
11
26%
21%
15%
22%
6-8.9
Credits Earned
9-11.9
6-8.9
2
7%
4
12%
8
21%
6
17%
4
10%
9
22%
12
21%
9
19%
11
22%
9
21%
18%
14%
Less than 6 credits
Less than 6
5
17%
7
21%
3
8%
10
28%
9
23%
8
20%
19
33%
12
25%
10
20%
12
28%
23%
22%
14
48%
15
45%
23
59%
16
44%
15
38%
15
37%
18
32%
16
33%
17
35%
11
26%
39%
48%
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
Total
29
100%
33
100%
39
100%
36
100%
40
100%
41
100%
57
100%
48
100%
49
100%
43
100%
100%
100%
3.7
2012-13
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
The numbers above for credit load are strikingly similar to our 2009 study (12+ = 18%; 9-11.9 = 19%;
6-8.9 = 24%; and less than 6 = 39%). Anthropology students trend toward taking more classes per
semester than the average TMCC student. Perhaps this correlates to a higher number who are degree
seeking and continuing students compared to college-wide numbers.
Another important status consideration for our students is their Veteran status. We do not have the data
available for knowing the number of Veterans taking anthropology courses, however, we know from
personal experience that on average we have at least two veterans in every class. Some years ago we
recognized that our Veterans, Active Duty and Reservists come with special needs in terms of
scheduling and also in some cases counseling and advising. It is because of this that our 2009/2010
applied anthropology students conducted a year-long research project entitled Assessing the Needs of
Veterans and Military Students at TMCC (see appendix C). Our 2010 study has a series of findings,
some of which are already being implemented by the TMCC Veterans Upward Bound Program.
Student Recruitment Activities
A few years ago Student Services instituted a Welcome Fair for students during the first few weeks of
classes each semester. Anthropology faculty has participated in the Welcome Fair every semester it has
been offered.
Another activity is the F.R.E.E. (Faculty for Radical Empowerment and Enlightenment) program in
which either Drs. Hammett or Kies has participated at least half a dozen times over the last several years.
This cross-disciplinary program brings two or more classes together to share information and ideas.
Inevitably students are exposed to anthropology through these events and a number subsequently enroll in
anthropology courses the following semester.
It is the judgment of the anthropology full-time faculty that it is irresponsible to conduct more extensive
recruitment activities in anthropology given the limitations of course offerings and numbers of total
students we can teach.
Underserved Student Populations
Demographically speaking anthropology is on par or doing better than the rest of the college for having
so-called underserved populations. Because it is consistent with our mission statement and our
professional values as a discipline to value a diverse community, we teach several courses on cultural
diversity and we think we are providing a welcoming environment for all of our students including
those of so-called underserved populations.
In addition, some of our internship placements also serve those marginalized by society. Last semester
we placed a student at Restart/VOA program that is currently managing the Thomas Vetica
Community Resource Center in Reno, known by many people on the streets as the shelter on Record
Street. Dr. Thomas Vetica was a colleague in applied anthropology and long-time instructor at TMCC.
He had a strong impact on our program and our students. After his passing, the city of Reno dedicated
their new shelter in his name. It was an honor to place one of our interns at the shelter to help members
of the community who rely on the shelter for services. Although most of these community members
are not and will likely never be our students, we have had (and likely to still have) homeless students
attending classes at TMCC. There were at least two students who were camping with Occupy Reno at
Moana Springs last winter who were also attending courses at TMCC.
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.8
2012-13
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
Because of the nature of anthropology, and in particular our field of applied anthropology
(anthropology in the service of humanity) we are especially in tune to the issues of social and
economic inequality and discrimination, perhaps we are more aware of the social and economic
circumstances of our students than the typical academic program. These issues are often discussed in
our classes and we make the case that by engaging these topics with our students we serve the needs of
many underserved student populations by providing a welcoming and safe environment in which to
engage the reality of their social and economic circumstances.
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.9
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2012-13
Enrollment Patterns
Number of Sections
Number of Sections: Fall Semesters
35.0
33.0
31.0
32.0
29.0
27.0
25.0
23.0
25.0
21.0
19.0
24.0
21.0
17.0
15.0
18.0
Fall 07
Fall 08
Fall 09
Fall 10
Fall 11
Number of Sections: Spring Semesters
35.0
33.0
31.0
29.0
27.0
25.0
23.0
21.0
19.0
17.0
15.0
31.0
29.0
27.0
22.0
19.0
Spr 08
Spr 09
Academic Years
Fall
2007-08
18.0
2008-09
21.0
2009-10
25.0
2010-11
24.0
2011-12
32.0
ANTH (5 yr Avg)
26
SOLA (5 yr Avg)
714
TMCC (5 yr Avg)
1594
*SOLA = School of Liberal Arts
Spr 10
Number of Sections
% Change
-17%
19%
-4%
33%
16%
0%
-4%
Spr 11
Spring
19.0
22.0
27.0
29.0
31.0
27
729
1602
Spr 12
% Change
-16%
23%
7%
7%
13%
2%
-2%
The following chart and graph represent the increasing number of student attempts to enroll in an
anthropology course and counts of the number of times that a student was unable to enroll in a given
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.10
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2012-13
course section. These figures and the representing graph give us some idea as to the student demand for
anthropology courses as a whole.
Term
ANTH
TMCC
Fall 2010
60
5050
Spring 2011
149
5588
Fall 2011
148
6337
Spring 2012
161
4735
Total
% of
unsuccessful
enrollment
attempts
518
21710
22%
16%
Number of Attempts
Failed Enrollment Due to Class
Capacity
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
ANTH
Fall 2010
Spring 2011
Fall 2011
Spring 2012
If we take the spring semester attempts at 161 students who were not able to take a desired course in
anthropology and if we consider a class size of 35 students, this would justify the expansion of
anthropology to offer 4.6 additional sections of anthropology or roughly the equivalent of a new full-time
instructor.
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.11
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
2012-13
Full-Time Equivalent Enrollment
FTE: Fall Semesters
170.0
160.0
150.0
140.0
130.0
120.0
110.0
100.0
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
164.1
131.2
127.3
108.9
92.2
Fall 07
Fall 08
Fall 09
Fall 10
Fall 11
UPDAT
FTE: Spring Semesters
170.0
160.0
150.0
140.0
130.0
120.0
110.0
100.0
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
156.2
152.7
134.9
118.1
92.5
Spr 08
Spr 09
Academic Years
Fall
2007-08
92.2
2008-09
108.9
2009-10
131.2
2010-11
127.3
2011-12
164.1
ANTH (5 yr Avg.)
124.8
SOLA (5 yr Avg.)
3360
TMCC (5 yr Avg.)
6820
*SOLA = School of Liberal Arts
Spr 10
Spr 11
FTE
% Change
-18%
20%
-3%
29%
16%
3%
-1%
Spring
92.5
118.1
134.9
152.7
156.2
130.9
3306
6761
Spr 12
% Change
-28%
14%
13%
2%
14%
4%
0%
Over the last five years anthropology has increased an average of 15% FTE (effective rate of 18.8%
and 17.2%). This is a dramatic increase when compared to SOLA (avg. 3.5) and TMCC (avg.-.5%)
over the same time period. It is noteworthy that the anthropology program has had only two full-time
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.12
2012-13
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
faculty during this time and have been fortunate to have managed this increase through careful course
scheduling, revising the course curriculum, and effective management (plus sheer luck) of a good pool
of adjunct candidates. However, it is unlikely that the sheer luck of a good pool will persist indefinitely
because to a large extent our adjunct pool is tied to UNR’s graduate student pool and the downturn of
the economy that has caused a number of local Masters-level anthropologist to seek supplemental
income in the applied sector. The adjunct pool varies a great deal over time and cannot be relied upon
to maintain the program FTE indefinitely.
The two spikes in FTE for the cycle were Fall 2007 (25%) / Spring 2008 (30%) and Fall 2011 (29%).
The two anomalous semesters where our FTE dramatically decreased were Fall 2010 (down 3%) and
Spring 2012 (only 2% change). It is believed there were due to changes in college enrollment
procedures and it is likely that this pattern is college-wide. If those anomalous semesters are pulled
from the data, the fall average for the five years is 24.25% (Fall) and 21% (Spring).
Retention Rates
5 year Average Retention Rates
ANTH
SOLA
TMCC
73.4%
73.1%
69.9%
Retention Rate
Retention by Semester - Fall 07 to Spring 12
Term
Total Enrollments
Number Retained
Fall 07
453
317
Spr 08
454
306
Fall 08
536
345
Spr 09
582
414
Fall 09
647
418
Spr 10
701
488
Fall 10
656
472
Spr 11
800
567
Fall 11
858
622
Spr 12
817
597
ANTH (5 year Avg)
650
455
SOLA (5 year Avg)
168,412
123,533
TMCC (5 year Avg)
339,139
247,856
*SOLA = School of Liberal Arts
Retention Rate
70%
67%
64%
71%
65%
70%
72%
71%
72%
73%
69.9%
73.4%
73.1%
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.13
2012-13
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
Although the retention rate for anthropology is acceptable, it is 3% below the division and the college
average. It is noteworthy that this retention average for anthropology is the same as for the previous
five years. Therefore, although there has been variation semester to semester it has stayed relatively
constant. The retention rates for SOLA have increased from 70.4% during the last study period to
73.4% and the TMCC retention rate has risen from 72.7% to 74.1%.
Retention is a complicated measure that is dependent upon a number of factors including course
specific factors to completely external factors and can vary a great deal. For example, average retention
for Hammett’s classes has ranged from 70% to 82% over the last five semesters with an average during
that time of 75.8%. The high point for anthropology retention was Spring 2003 (78%) and the second
highest was Spring 2002 (77%). Interestingly those two semesters were high points for the division and
TMCC for the previous study period. It is suspected that retention is probably highest for full-time
faculty for a number of reasons related to a stable workforce in general and the degree of teaching
expertise of the full-time staff.
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Demographics and Enrollment
3.14
2012-13
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
Student to Faculty Ratios
Student to Faculty Ratio: Fall Semesters
30.0
29.0
28.0
27.0
27.3
26.8
26.0
25.0
24.0
25.5
25.2
25.9
23.0
22.0
21.0
20.0
Fall 07
Fall 08
Fall 09
Fall 10
Fall 11
UPDAT
Student to Faculty Ratio: Spring Semesters
30.0
29.0
28.0
27.0
26.0
25.0
24.0
23.0
22.0
21.0
20.0
27.6
26.5
26.4
26.0
23.9
Spr 08
Spr 09
Academic Years
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
ANTH (5 yr Avg)
SOLA (5 yr Avg)
TMCC (5 yr Avg)
*SOLA = School of Liberal Arts
Fall
25.2
25.5
25.9
27.3
26.8
26
24
21
Spr 10
Student to Faculty Ratio
% Change
-1%
1%
6%
-2%
2%
2%
3%
Spr 11
Spring
23.9
26.5
26.0
27.6
26.4
26
23
21
Spr 12
% Change
-11%
-2%
6%
-4%
3%
1%
2%
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Number of Declared Degree/Emphasis Seekers
113
Total Active Declared Degree/Emphasis Seekers
43
Student Success Rates
Number of Students Earning a Degree
2007-2011
4
1
0
2007-08
0
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
Number of Graduates by Academic Year
2007 - 2011
Year
# of Graduates
2007-08
0
2008-09
0
2009-10
1
2010-11
4
Number of Declared Degree/Emphasis Seekers*
Fall 2007 - Spring 2011
Degree
Number of Students
AA Anthropology
113
*Unduplicated
# of Grads
5
Regarding graduation rates, anthropology is lower than the previous five years (n=6). There does seem
to be an increase over the last year (n=4) that could be tied to curriculum changes or it could be an
anomaly. Due to the economic downturn we have been compelled to decrease offering of courses
tailored for anthropology degree seekers and we have modified degree requirements to reflect these
changes. Ultimately graduation rates are only one measure of completion and are probably not as
important a factor to the program mission as course completion rates and the overall transfer rate.
Increasing the number of graduates has never been a top priority of the anthropology program, but
rather “... providing quality, affordable and accessible educational opportunities in anthropology
designed to serve the needs of our students. “ Anthropology, like the rest of the Social and Physical
Sciences, is primarily a transfer program training undergraduate students to prepare for their upper
division, and in the case of anthropology, anticipated graduate work. Therefore, our students are
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primarily geared to obtaining anthropological training and pursuing a four-year degree with an eye on
graduate work. We recognize that our emphasis is an ideal stepping stone for an anthropology fouryear degree in many fields; however, we also acknowledge that the majority of our students are not
pursuing a degree in anthropology.
Our student feedback survey indicates that most of our students are seeking degrees in disciplines other
than anthropology (see appendix B). Anthropology is relevant and practical for many students seeking
professional careers tied to interacting with a cross-cultural population in the U.S. or abroad, and
therefore, this value is integrated into our program mission and objectives as well. Like most
community college anthropology programs we try to provide field experiences, lab space and offer
courses that fulfill lower division core requirements without going to the trouble of having a degree or
degree emphasis.
Our student feedback survey indicated that while 73% of students were seeking a degree, over 1/3
transferred without a degree in hand. While many of these students were not seeking a degree with an
emphasis in anthropology, it is clear that existing campus student services are not effectively helping
these students to meet their educational goals. Therefore, we need to explore strategies to help these
students to achieve their goals. This may include reestablishing closer partnerships with specific
student advisors as we did in the past before reorganizations in student services made this more
problematic. At a minimum, an increased focus on student advisement of anthropology majors may
help us to track and catch any “sleeper graduates” who transfer with our degree requirements
completed or near complete but never receive our degree.
There has been considerable discussion among the full-time anthropology faculty that we should
consider developing a transfer degree with a Social Science degree emphasis where students could
focus on one or more areas of specialty within social science areas. Of course there are a several factors
to consider. First, anthropology is the most tangible (hands-on) discipline aside from perhaps Early
Childhood Education and we will always need a space, equipment, collections and materials in order to
properly train our students.
During the last self-study cycle we identified certain strategies and needed resources in order to
increase graduates. However, since then the economic downturn has caused anthropology program to
eliminate courses that were geared exclusively to degree seeking students. This end result has been to
dramatically drive up our enrollment numbers overall, but it has diminished our ability to adequately
support degree-seeking students. If we are to increase our number of completers, we need to increase
faculty connections and advisement efforts with our students. The most economical strategy is to
replace the course release that was taken from anthropology without any justification or rationale in
2009. The addition of another full-time faculty member would also help ease the burden of
extracurricular training programs and to help with student advisement and mentoring.
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PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
Transfer Status
Transfer Students from the Anthropology Program
Fall 07 thru Spring 12
Transfers
33%
Non Tranfers
67%
# Declared
Tranfers to To Other 4 To Other 2
# Transfers % Transferred
Majors*
UNR
yr
yr
132
44
33%
31
10
3
*Declared ANTHRO-AA Students enrolled between fall 07 to fall 11 (unduplicated)
It is difficult to measure this with the data provided. Referring to the current TMCC Fact Book, the
college-wide transfer rate was 12% (Fall 2007) and 15% (Fall 2008). Therefore, it would appear where
anthropology is performing less than satisfactory in graduation rates, our transfer rate is significantly
higher than the college average. The committee thinks this is an acceptable outcome for the program
overall and will endeavor to increase the transfer rate for anthropology majors over time.
Enrollment Strategic Plan
The following section summarizes the findings above and outlines the self-study committee’s
recommended targets for enrollment improvement to be implemented over the next five year
period.
Demographic Findings and Strategies
 Continue to monitor demographic trends and strive to maintain parity with the college in terms
of student recruitment especially those from underrepresented categories.
 Continue to explore ways to provide access to educational resources for all students including
underrepresented groups through classroom and extracurricular activities.
Student Status Findings and Strategies
 Continue to provide academic support (i.e. student advisement, mentoring, financial funding,
when feasible customize skill sets) for students seeking the associate degree in anthropology. An
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
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
increased focus on student advisement of anthropology majors may help us to track and catch
any “sleeper graduates” who transfer with our degree requirements completed or near complete
but never receive our degree.
Continue to develop and refine the internship program and to build community and global
partnerships for students seeking the anthropology degree emphasis. Revisit the internship
requirement to help students obtain job-related skills and experience and to improve graduation
and transfer rates.
Enrollment Patterns and Strategies
Program
Data
Sections
Student FTE
Retention Rate
Anthropology
Spring 2008
Full-time Part-Time
3.0
0.9
Spring 2009
Full-time Part-Time
3.0
1.5
Faculty and Staff FTE
Spring 2010
Full-time Part-Time
3.0
2.6
Fall
2007
18
92.2
70%
Fall
2008
21
108.9
64%
Fall
2009
25
131.2
65%
Spring 2011
Full-time Part-Time
3.0
2.3
Fall
2010
24
127.3
72%
Fall
2011
32
164.1
72%
Spring 2012
Full-time Part-Time
3.0
3.0
We think it prudent to disregard this faculty table and comment on the data in the next section under
resources as these data are impacted with the issue that calculations were wrongly made including 3
full-time faculty instead of the correct 2. In other areas we have corrected the data but here we merely
let the data stand.
We have tried a number of different strategies for increasing retention and we are slightly up but pretty
flat in our numbers through time. Perhaps anthropology is a field that some students naively think will
be easier than it proves to be. As a study in retention in fall 2010, Dr. Julia Hammett found she could
dramatically increase her numbers by a technique she called “coddling” whereby all late assignments
and makeup tests were permitted and she spent excessive energy tracking students who were missing
assignments. She also gave routine pep talks to students about staying in school. Her retention
numbers did dramatically improve; however, the study was considered inappropriate given the time
constraints instructors have and also, this degree of “coddling” could be considered “over-nurturing”
and this strategy may poorly prepare students for the challenges of upper division courses. The next
semester she resumed her previous pattern and retention dropped in all her classes. Since then she has
developed a strategy that is not so much dependent on outreach, pep talks and make-up exams, which
can all be time consuming. However her current strategies seem to be relatively successful and are
consistently better than the discipline average.
It is suspected that retention rates for both full-time faculty Drs. Hammett and Kies are well above the
discipline average and that this number is significantly affected by factors related to a part-time
teaching pool with new or inexperience instructors who are juggling their teaching duties with other
activities. If ample time allowed, faculty would be more likely to track their attendance more precisely
and follow up with emails. Unfortunately due to the time constraints on existing full-time faculty, this
strategy is rarely feasible.
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One solution to improve retention and other student success measures is to hire an additional full-time
anthropology faculty member. Anthropology fill rates (88% to 100% with average of 96%) clearly
indicate that anthropology classes are incredibly efficient in scheduling. In addition, our FTE and
number of course sections have both increased by 44% since Fall 2007 and this has all been
accomplished by increasing numbers of part-time instructors.
Student Success Rates and Strategies



Continue to refine course and program offerings through collaboration and consistency; work
with UNR and other academic institutions to ensure transfer readiness of our students.
Continue to provide academic support for transfer students by providing a low-cost high-quality
transfer degree program (i.e. annual review the costs of textbooks and work, coordinate with
book representatives to get quality texts for affordable prices, create additional online course
materials to further expand instructional materials while reducing costs for students).
Hire an additional full-time faculty member to meet the demands of an increasing administrative
workload and the need for teaching, mentoring and advisement of an increasing number of
students in the anthropology courses and program.
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RESOURCES
Faculty and Staff
Required Faculty Credentials
A list of current part-time instructors was discussed earlier within this report. The minimum
qualification for our part-time faculty is a Master’s degree in anthropology.
Full-time faculty qualifications as listed from the last job search completed in 2007-2008 consists of
the following:
1. An earned Master's degree in anthropology from a regionally
accredited institution.
Minimum Qualifications
2. Fifteen (15) semester credits of experience teaching lecture
at the college level.
3. Knowledge and ability to teach entry level courses in three of
the following five anthropology subdisciplines: cultural
anthropology biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistic,
and applied anthropology.
1. An earned Ph.D. in Anthropology from a regionally
accredited institution.
2. Thirty (30) semester credits of teaching experience at the
undergraduate level.
3. Two (2) semesters teaching experience at a community
college.
4. Knowledge and ability to teach entry level courses in all five
anthropology subdisciplines listed above.
5. Demonstrated experience developing courses for new and
existing programs.
Preferred Qualifications
6. Demonstrated teaching experience in a field and/or an
applied setting.
7. Research expertise in at least one subfield of anthropology
other than North American archaeology and/or historical
ecology.
8. Academic training and research stressing depth as well as
breadth of knowledge in anthropology.
9. Demonstrated ability and willingness to incorporate
undergraduate students in research activities.
10. Demonstrated ability to engage in scholarly activities
related to embellishing and enhancing the anthropology
program and the social science department. This may include
such tasks as creating new courses/programs, developing new
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pedagogical techniques, research and publication, educational
research, grant writing (to acquire new lab equipment/develop
programs), publishing papers in teaching, scientific research or
community college journals, collaborations in a specific project
with university faculty members, etc.
Name
Julia E. Hammett
Thomas J. Kies
FTE
Degree(s), Certificates
List conferring institutions
M.A. and Ph.D. in
anthropology, University of
North Carolina-Chapel Hill
M.A. Western Washington
University and Ph.D.in
anthropology, the University
of New Mexico
Professional Certification Years at Total
List agency/organization TMCC Years
16
26
6
11
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Full-Time to Part-Time Faculty Ratio
Full-time vs. Part-time Faculty FTE
Fall Semesters
100%
Full-time
90%
Part-time
80%
70%
60%
73%
71%
63%
57%
50%
53%
40%
43%
30%
20%
47%
38%
29%
27%
10%
0%
Fall 07
Fall 08
Fall 09
Fall 10
Fall 11
Full-time vs. Part-time Faculty FTE
Spring Semesters
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Full-time
Part-time
77%
67%
57%
54%
46%
43%
50%
50%
33%
23%
Spr 08
Spr 09
Spr 10
Spr 11
Spring
Fall
Academic Years
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-01
2011-12
ANTH (5 yr Avg)
Full-time
73%
71%
57%
63%
53%
63%
Spr 12
Part-time
27%
29%
43%
38%
47%
37%
Full-time
77%
67%
54%
57%
50%
61%
Part-time
23%
33%
46%
43%
50%
39%
Addendum to the graphs and data listed above. The above graphs are based on erroneous data.
The critical issue has to deal with the number of full-time faculty within our program and this error
impacts this dataset as a whole. Basically a faculty member outside of the program was wrongly
considered as a full-time faculty member of the anthropology unit because they teach a cross-listed
course. The corrected data are provided below:
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Spring
Fall
Academic Years
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-01
2011-12
Full-time
64%
63%
47%
53%
43%
Part-time
36%
37%
53%
47%
57%
Full-time
69%
57%
44%
47%
40%
Part-time
31%
43%
56%
53%
60%
ANTH (5 yr Avg.)
54%
46%
51%
49%
The trend within the preceding graph and data suggest an increasingly dependence on part-time
instructors to carry the weight of teaching in anthropology. Not even included within the purview of
this data is the fact that from 2012–2015 Dr. Kies, one of two full-time faculty members in the
program, is taking on reduced teaching load to serve as department chair. The resulting impact of
this situation is that we need to “back fill” Dr. Kies’ annual 18-credit course release with additional
part-time instructors. This factor is having a profound impact on teaching excellence, student
advisement and stewardship of the anthropology program. This extraordinarily lopsided FT/PT ratio
necessitates a new full-time instructor at the earliest time possible.
In conjunction with this situation our part-time faculty pool has grown increasingly sparse. One
staffing issue experienced during the last five years was tied to the deteriorating financial situation
within the Nevada System of Higher Education. In previous years a wealth of Ph.D. candidates
from UNR had sought out teaching opportunities at TMCC. Increasingly however many former and
potential instructors have discussed how their dissertation committees have asked them to not take
on additional teaching assignments and rather focus on finishing their dissertations. We support our
colleagues at UNR, especially as graduation rates are increasingly focused upon when evaluating a
program’s effectiveness. From our perspective at TMCC, the impact of this change has been a
significant decrease of the availability of quality instructors. This too justifies a new tenure-track
faculty member within the anthropology program.
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Required Classified Credentials
Anthropology has no exclusive classified staff and relies on the administrative assistant from social
sciences for our program needs.
Classified FTE
Not applicable
Facilities
RDMT 244 Anthropology Teaching Lab Remodel—The anthropology program has a teaching lab located
in Red Mountain 244. The room consists of a multipurpose space bisected with a self-standing wall that
separates the classroom seating 28 students from a modest lab space with computer and microscope work
stations and a library:
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The wall bisecting the lab space was initially built to provide intern lab space where up to five students
could work on lab projects while the classroom side was being used for classes. However, over the last
ten years it has been very rare for more than two students at a time to be actively working in the lab at any
given time and generally students work on the lab during Fridays when no classes are scheduled into the
lab except for ANTH 290: Anthropology Internship:
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This has limited us to using “sled desks” in the classroom to allow 28 seats which has made the space less
than optimum for a teaching lab:
In keeping with our college, department and program mission, we want to make our lab space a
welcoming environment but recently several serious concerns have arisen regarding our ability to
accomplish this. Current concerns include meeting ADA compliance while also addressing health and
safety concerns. TMCC is an EEO/AA institution and the anthropology program willingly makes
accommodations for students with teaching disabilities. That includes providing larger desks and chairs
when needed and wheelchair access so that our students can complete certain laboratory exercises:
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Another related issue is the instructor’s station. Given the space being utilized with the ADA compliant
desks, we are now limited to about three feet from white board to podium with virtually no opportunity to
effectively circulate and actively work with students. This would be unacceptable in any classroom but in
a lab space it has become insurmountable. Furthermore, the computer cables also restrict the layout so
that the teaching space has become a health and safety concern:
Our proposal is to initially have student assistance in digitizing the library and then to remodel the lab in
order to correct the safety code concerns by removing the self-standing wall that bisects this lab and
classroom space. This will allow us to replace the desks with tables which are a much more advisable
design for a laboratory, and will allow students with disabilities to be more fully integrated into the space.
Meadowood Lab Space Potential—To absorb the increased student demand one proposed change is to
offer ANTH 102/110L at a satellite campus. The anthropology program has already successfully
established a clientele for course offering at the Meadowood campus. We recognize that TMCC is
beginning a new space utilization study and it is hoped this will include a full audit of space at
Meadowood which should identify new transfer college classroom space. Once completed the space
utilization study will be assessed from the standpoint of potential physical space that could support the
possible expansion our offerings at Meadowood to include the use of a room as a possible science
classroom and dry lab.
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Technology
The anthropology lab has two computer lab stations, a computer scanner and a laser color printer. These
resources are used for students working on their lab reports and their special projects and for students and
staff conducting small research projects, generating program reports, and for various other management
activities.
The lab also holds a digital camera for a binocular microscope and two sets of electronic scales. Our lab is
fully equipped for processing, cataloging and short-term curation of archaeological collections so that
students may learn how to properly manage and steward collections from archaeological sites. This has
been critical for our partnerships with Nevada BLM and Stanford University. We have also loaned our lab
space to special projects for students from UNR, Berkeley and private archaeology firms over the last ten
years.
The anthropology program depends deeply on online resources provided by the TMCC library including
web pages created in partnership with TMCC librarians and subscriptions to JSTOR, AnthroSource, the
Alexander Street Archive of Ethnographic Films, Bone Clones Rotational Series and other materials. As
anthropology continues to work towards more online course sections, certainly our technological needs
will grow to match the demands that we place on our students. This may be especially true as we attempt
to offer an online section of ANTH 110L.
Funding Sources
Anthropology relies on hard money for salaries and often solicits foundation grant monies when
necessary for lab equipment or resources. In the future we will pursue the same strategies:
 Continue to seek internal funding for the facilities and technological needs of the program.
Several internal grants were attained over the last five years. Some examples of funded projects
included two facilities upgrades to our lab space and also integration of new technologies within
our classroom and virtual learning environments.
 Continue to utilize internally and externally funded internships by connecting qualified students
with exceptional learning opportunities and in doing so continue developing strategic
partnerships. To date our partners have provided over $10,000 in travel grants, housing and
board for our students. Last year our students received $10,000 in TMCC internship scholarships.
We will continue to investigate internal and external funding possibilities into the future.
Resource Strategic Plan
The following section summarizes the findings above and outlines the self-study committee’s
recommended targets for resource allocations to be implemented over the next five year period.
Staffing Issues and Strategies
Staffing Recommendation #1: Reinstate the Coordinator Course Release Option.
In Fall 2008 the NFA contract was rewritten to narrowly define program coordinator as tied to
occupational and terminal degree programs and the then Vice President Dr. Jowel Laguerre, after
supporting the recommendations of the Anthropology Program Review in Spring 2009, abruptly took
away the anthropology discipline course release in Fall 2009. After one year of coordinating the
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program and managing the lab while teaching 15 credits Dr. Hammett decided to relinquish the
coordinator position. She continues to manage the lab and steward collections without compensation.
Beginning in fall 2010 Dr. Kies began the duties of discipline coordinator with a stipend and no course
release. In fall 2012, the additional assignment was taken over by adjunct faculty member Patrick
Jackson. The anthropology coordinator position was the last coordinator position held by a full-time
instructor in the social sciences department. Certain workload issues emerge with non-salaried
employees taking on this responsibility including the need to complete tasks, such as during the
summer, when they are not compensated for said work. The management of the lab continues to be a
time consuming responsibility and the proposed changes to space and resource allocation for
anthropology will acerbate the challenge of accomplishing these tasks. In sum, there is a need to
further supplement the compensation given to coordinators more generally at TMCC. Our
recommendation more specifically, however, is to reinstate the option for a course release for the
anthropology coordinator. Assessment efforts, student advising, persistence, transfer and outreach will
all be improved by offering the coordinator the option of either a stipend or course release.
Staffing Recommendation #2” Hire a New Tenure-Track Faculty Member in Anthropology.
As is clear from the data presented within this report, the anthropology program requires the addition
of a new full-time faculty member to best support student success and access to lifelong learning. Our
ever-increasing FTE and subsequent reliance on shrinking part-time faculty pools, the lab space and
resources to manage, and with increasing demands on assessment data management and report writing
more than justify this expansion position.
Staffing Recommendation #3: Student Worker Compensation
The remodel plan of our existing lab (see facilities recommendation # 1) requires the digitization of our
existing library so that the existing wall holding these references can be removed. We have been
approached by our professional organization about their interest in digitizing this collection with the
actual work ideally providing student employment or funded internship opportunities.
Facilities and Desired Capital Improvements
Facilities Recommendation #1: Red Mountain 244 Lab Remodel
Execute a three-year plan for implementation of the remodel of the anthropology lab. Year one goal
will include digitization of the anthropology library, working with facilities to determine a variety of
remodel plans and costs, and consider storage concerns of anthropological collections. Year two goal
will be to submit a resource request based on the best remodel plan. The goal of year three will be to
complete the remodel of the anthropology lab space.
Facilities Recommendation #2: Assess Meadowood Lab Space
Assess the possibility for a Meadowood lab space to increase and diversify offerings of this popular
general education course.
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Funding Allocations and Development Strategies
In terms of our funding allocation and planning for the anthropology program at TMCC we find it best to
align our own program directives centered on college-wide initiatives.
TMCC Themes
Support lifelong learning through strengthening institutional infrastructure and
partnerships within our diverse community
Initiative
Strategic Stewardship of college resources through responsible human resource
Initiative 1 development and management.
The anthropology department commits to support the most inclusive hiring
processes. We will continue to recruit the most diverse part-time and full-time
faculty and serve this faculty in terms of their professional development.
Core
Theme I
We will contemplate the specialization of our requested new tenure-track position
with the VPAA, our Dean and faculty to contemplate how this new instructor’s
specialization can best serve our students. This new faculty specialization might
include one of the following:
1) Public anthropology with focus on cultural anthropology to develop increased
connection with community partners.
2) Public anthropology with focus on archaeology to develop an archaeology tech
certificate program.
3) Linguistic anthropology to help develop ANTH 281 offerings.
Enhance and ensure a welcoming and diverse environment that is
Strategic
mutually respectful, socially supportive, accessible, safe, physically
Initiative 2
pleasing, provides opportunities for personal growth.
At the cornerstone of anthropology is a strong conviction of instilling our
students the many benefits intrinsic to a diverse society. Anthropology will
continue to serve the general education mission of the college and work towards
creating a welcoming and diverse environment through the remodeling of Red
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Mountain 244.
Create, expand, and/or strengthen partnerships with civic, community,
Strategic
educational, and business/industry organizations to provide lifelong
Initiative 3
learning opportunities.
Our students have successfully interned with our partners in government
agencies, private non-profits, and academic institutions. We will continue to
strengthen these ties into the future. New partnerships are currently being
developed and continued financial support, currently from the President’s Office,
is appreciated and essential for the continuing strength of this area.
Strategic Serve as a resource for the community by providing a variety of
Initiative 4 opportunities for cultural and educational enrichment.
Anthropology faculty will continue to serve as partners with our colleagues
within the college to promote cultural and educational enrichment of our
community. Over the last five years we assisted the guest lecture series
committee in bringing famous anthropologist Donald Johansen to campus, the
NEH grant-funded Global Lens Film series hosted by the TMCC Library in
presenting cultural diversity through cinema, and consistently inviting the
community into our classes such as a Taiko Drum demonstration in our
Fundamentals of Cultural Diversity ANTH 208 class.
Academic Excellence
Initiative
Core
Theme
II
Text
Implement a comprehensive process to assess student learning outcomes
Strategic
and use the results to consistently improve curricula and the delivery of
Initiative 1
instructional programs and services.
Anthropology has had a robust system of assessment in place and use data driven
analysis within decision making. Anthropology faculty has also participated in
assessment pilots within and outside our program and has presented our findings
to our colleagues formally during professional development days.
Strategic Establish and implement college-wide processes that include regular
Initiative 2 assessment of all college programs and services delivered in support of
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academic programs.
At the program assessment level we continue to need to redesign our methods so
as to best contemplate the quality of our program for the students that we serve:
transfer-oriented majors, general education students, and those who complete our
program/courses out of general interest.
Strategic Regularly assess the skills needed to meet workforce needs in the service
Initiative 3 area.
As part of our ongoing discussion with our community partners we constantly
are contemplating the needs of our partners in the workforce and at transfer
institutions across the nation so as to best serve our students.
Student Success
Initiative
Text
Strategic Provide services for students to achieve college readiness and increase
Initiative 1 student retention, persistence, graduation, and transfer rates.
1College readiness
Core
Theme
III
Anthropology supports college readiness by stressing that students acquire
increased and refined academic skill sets within our classes.
Retention
Retention is of course central to our mission to support student success.
Anthropology at the course level is currently 69.9%. Our benchmark is 75% by
2017. What is necessary to actualize this goal is increased advisement of
students. As is evident from our student survey (see appendix B), meeting an
advisor was infrequent to say the least. The full-time faculty can provide some
advising, however, a new full-time faculty member and the reinstatement of the
course release for the anthropology coordinator are essential to support retention
and persistence.
Graduation Rates
In terms of graduates, anthropology is a small program and while there is room
for us to develop some, we wish to remain sustainable and true to our core
mission considering the actual number of graduates that transfer institutions and
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the professional workforce can absorb.
Transfer Readiness
From our student survey 2012 results (see appendix B), our students feel that
they were prepared for their future academic endeavors. Continued evaluation of
student progress necessary to best serve students. An additional faculty member
and the reinstatement of the coordinator option for a course release are central to
best supporting student success and academic excellence.
Maintain and regularly evaluate student progress and achievement.
The full-time faculty can provide some advising. However the new full-time
Strategic
faculty and the reinstatement of the course release for the anthropology
Initiative 2
coordinator are essential to track student progress and achievement.
.
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Resources
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APPENDIX A
Dean’s Analysis of Funding Resources
Click here to enter text.
State-Supported Operating Budgets
Click here to enter text.
Lab Fees
Click here to enter text.
Special Fees
Click here to enter text.
Grants
Click here to enter text.
Non-Credit Training Income
Click here to enter text.
Donations
Click here to enter text.
Other
Click here to enter text.
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Appendix A
A.1
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
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APPENDIX B
Student Feedback Survey: Note: this is poorly formatted because we were directed by IR representative to
use the free version of Survey Monkey to conduct our student feedback survey.
1.
What is your previous or current status at TMCC? Mark all that apply
answered question 37
skipped question 1
ResponseResponse
Percent Count
Current Student
(now taking classes)
as an anthropology
major
Current Student
(now taking classes)
in a major other than
anthropology
Dormant Student
(still TMCC student
but not taking classes
at this time)
Graduate (received
AA-Anthropology
degree)
Graduate (received
other TMCC degree)
Transferred (from
TMCC with no
degree in hand)
18.9%
7
32.4%
12
8.1%
3
16.2%
6
27.0%
10
5.4%
2
Where Have You Transferred After TMCC and List Any Degrees That You Have Attained:
6
University of Nevada Reno
1
University of Nevada Las Vegas
1
University California Santa Barbara
1
Career College of Northern Nevada
2. What are/were your goals while at TMCC and how satisfied were you with your outcomes? Mark all that apply.
answered question 38
skipped question 0
Not at all
Satisfied
Seeking Associate of Arts
with Emphasis in
Anthropology
Seeking Certificate in
Somewhat
Satisfied
Satisfied
Very
Satisfied
Extremely
Response
Not applicable
Satisfied
Count
0.0% (0)
3.2% (1)
6.5% (2)
19.4% (6)
25.8% (8)
45.2% (14)
31
0.0% (0)
0.0% (0)
3.7% (1)
7.4% (2)
14.8% (4)
74.1% (20)
27
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Appendix B
B.1
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Applied
Anthropology/Diversity
0.0% (0)
0.0% (0)
11.4% (4)
20.0% (7)
34.3% (12)
34.3% (12)
35
3.6% (1)
7.1% (2)
10.7% (3)
10.7% (3)
21.4% (6)
46.4% (13)
28
3.6% (1)
0.0% (0)
10.7% (3)
7.1% (2)
78.6% (22)
28
0.0% (0)
0.0% (0)
3.7% (1)
3.7% (1)
92.6% (25)
27
Seeking Associate of Arts
Transfer Degree
Seeking other
Degree/Certificate
Non Degree seeking
anthropology
0.0% (0)
major/Planning to transfer
without degree to a fouryear anthropology program
Non-Degree
seeking/Personal Interest
0.0% (0)
3. Please rate your satisfaction for the following courses taken at TMCC
answered question 37
skipped question 1
Not At All
Satisfied
ANTH 101Introduction to
Cultural
Anthropology
Somewhat
Satisfied
Average
Very
Satisfied
N/A (Did
Extremely
Rating Response
not take this
Satisfied
Average Count
class)
0.0% (0)
0.0% (0)
8.6% (3)
14.3% (5)
68.6% (24)
8.6% (3)
4.66
35
0.0% (0)
2.7% (1)
5.4% (2)
27.0% (10)
51.4% (19)
13.5% (5)
4.47
37
ANTH 110L-Physical0.0% (0)
Anthropology Lab
5.4% (2)
5.4% (2)
18.9% (7)
56.8% (21)
13.5% (5)
4.47
37
0.0% (0)
5.4% (2)
13.5% (5)
56.8% (21)
24.3% (9)
4.68
37
0.0% (0)
2.9% (1)
2.9% (1)
14.7% (5)
38.2% (13)
41.2% (14) 4.50
34
2.9% (1)
2.9% (1)
5.9% (2)
8.8% (3)
29.4% (10)
50.0% (17) 4.18
34
0.0% (0)
0.0% (0)
3.1% (1)
6.3% (2)
15.6% (5)
75.0% (24) 4.50
32
0.0% (0)
0.0% (0)
0.0% (0)
3.1% (1)
9.4% (3)
87.5% (28) 4.75
32
ANTH 102Introduction to
Physical
Anthropology
ANTH 201- Peoples
0.0% (0)
and Cultures of the
World
ANTH 202Introduction to
Archaeology
ANTH 205- Ethnic
Groups in
Contemporary
Societies
ANTH 208Fundamentals of
Cultural Diversity
ANTH 229Fundamentals of
Applied
Anthropology
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Appendix B
B.2
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ANTH 279-Para0.0% (0)
professional Skills in
the Social Sciences
ANTH 290Internship in
Anthropology
0.0% (0)
Overall Satisfaction
0.0% (0)
with anthropology
courses at TMCC
Overall Satisfaction
with all coursework 0.0% (0)
at TMCC
PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW
0.0% (0)
0.0% (0)
3.1% (1)
9.4% (3)
87.5% (28) 4.75
32
0.0% (0)
0.0% (0)
3.1% (1)
6.3% (2)
90.6% (29) 4.67
32
5.7% (2)
0.0% (0)
25.7% (9)
57.1% (20)
11.4% (4)
4.52
35
0.0% (0)
14.3% (5)
45.7% (16)
34.3% (12)
5.7% (2)
4.21
35
4. What are/were the best days and times for you to attend classes at TMCC? Mark all the apply
answered question 37
skipped question 1
Response
Percent
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Morning
(before noon)
Afternoon
(noon to 5 pm)
Evening (after
5 pm)
Response
Count
75.7%
70.3%
78.4%
70.3%
18.9%
5.4%
28
26
29
26
7
2
51.4%
19
54.1%
20
56.8%
21
5. How useful was the anthropology coursework that you completed at TMCC for the following:
answered question 38
skipped question 0
Not at all Useful Somewhat Useful
In other
anthropology0.0% (0)
courses?
In other
0.0% (0)
college
courses?
In transfer
0.0% (0)
degree
courses?
In graduate
0.0% (0)
school
programs?
On the job? 8.3% (3)
In general
fulfillment of
0.0% (0)
lifelong
learning?
Significantly
Useful
Extremely Useful
Not Applicable
Response
Count
2.6% (1)
28.9% (11)
65.8% (25)
2.6% (1)
38
26.3% (10)
39.5% (15)
23.7% (9)
10.5% (4)
38
13.9% (5)
27.8% (10)
19.4% (7)
41.7% (15)
36
2.9% (1)
8.8% (3)
2.9% (1)
85.3% (29)
34
16.7% (6)
19.4% (7)
16.7% (6)
38.9% (14)
36
5.3% (2)
15.8% (6)
78.9% (30)
0.0% (0)
38
6. For anthropology majors, how many times have you made an appointment and met with the following:
answered question 36
skipped question 2
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Appendix B
B.3
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About once per
year
About once a semester
Anthropology
14.7% (5)
Faculty
TMCC Advisement
17.1% (6)
Counselor
Infrequently, less
than once per
year
Never
Not
Response
Applicable Count
17.6% (6)
14.7% (5)
2.9% (1)
52.9% (18) 34
17.1% (6)
25.7% (9)
8.6% (3)
37.1% (13) 35
7. If it took (or is taking) more than two years to complete your degree or coursework at TMCC, which of the following
contributed to this extended length of time. Mark all that apply.
answered question 31
skipped question
Not attending full-time
Unable to attend full-time
due to financial
constraints
Response Response
Percent Count
38.7%
12
29.0%
9
Unable to attend full-time
due to family obligation
25.8%
8
Unable to attend full-time
due to employment
64.5%
20
Courses needed to
graduate not available
25.8%
8
48.4%
15
19.4%
6
Courses not available at
times that I could easily fit
into my schedule
Lack of knowledge about
degree requirements
7
8. Other thoughts about anthropology at TMCC?
I love all the anthropology teachers that I have had. They were very knowledgeable and gave me great
advice in how to pursue my degree in archaeology.
I took Anthropology 102 and 110L from Thomas Kies in a Hybrid format. Much of the book work was
completed online, but we had a lab. I found this format perfect for a full-time employee and father. I
would not have been able to take this course if it had not been offered as a hybrid. The labs were
condensed and demanded a lot of attention and time management, but this is what made this course great.
There was absolutely no wasting time in this course. I think TMCC should offer more Hybrid courses.
I really liked the Anthropology courses that I have taken there. I learned a lot and I even thought about
switching my Criminal Justice major to Anthropology because I really enjoyed learning about it, but I
have always wanted to become a defense attorney, and I am trying to build my path to get there through
the field of criminal justice.
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The TMCC Anthropology classes were informative and fun, I even considered majoring in Anthropology
at one point because I enjoyed them, but elected not to, for reasons of my own indecisiveness. I was also
glad that they were largely available online as that is the most convenient class type for my schedule.
I love the Anthropology program at TMCC. It has broadened my horizon on countless fronts in my life. I
highly recommend it to anyone that may have even the slightest interest in the program. Dr. Thomas Kies
was my instructor in Anthropology 101, 102 and 110L. He is an amazing instructor and the passion he
leads with was and still is extremely inspirational to my desire to learn and my learning styles.
I enjoy Anthropology, and am trying to make it my career. Some of the opportunities presented to me
through TMCC have changed the course of my career, and have significantly impacted my life.
The anthropology professors at TMCC are amazing, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable. They have
made learning a joy and keep me going to class. If I were younger, I would change my major to
anthropology.
Anthropology was not my first choice for a degree but in the beginning of school I took an anthropology
class and feel in love with it!
I have enjoyed most of the Anthropology courses at TMCC however, the professor I have for
Cultural/Ethnic Anthropology is the worst teacher in every way possible!!!! (PROFESSOR LOWMAN) I
do not know if she is a new professor and not sure of what exactly she is doing, she doesn't come to class
prepared and she has no idea how to engage the class in active learning. The rest of my classmates have
also made it fully clear that they are just as miserable as I in this class. This kind of teaching should be
illegal. Whoever told her she would be good at teaching lied. She needs to invest her time in another
career. Now, I am sure she is perfectly nice outside of the classroom as an individual. But, I think this
should be critically examined so other students don't have to suffer through this Homo sapiens class.
I switched my declared area of study to anthropology after studying with Dr. Vetica and his very
captivating anthropology class. He is very missed and continues to be an inspiration in my quest for
knowledge of human culture and other anthropological disciplines. The program is filled with interesting
classes, knowledgeable and warm professors, as well as challenging, but rewarding academic stimulation.
I love this program! the professors were awesome and passionate about what they taught. They helped me
to get ready for UNR and helped me find my passion.
I really enjoyed the courses. They were very challenging. The Instructors seemed really interested in the
subjects and their enthusiasm made the material more interesting.
Even though anthropology and sociology are closely related fields anthropology should not be taught by a
sociologist as they look at different aspects of things. Anthropology should be taught by an anthropologist
as the student could apply the work to their future career in a more meaningful way.
My educational aspirations are very unique compared to other students at TMCC. I have a great career
and elected to return to obtain my degree at age 30, knowing I may not elect to pursue a new career in
anthropology. My interest in anthropology was strictly out of my own curiosity. All the professors were
exceptionally passionate and knowledgeable about their respected fields within anthropology. My
classroom experience was challenging and highly rewarding. I feel it would be highly beneficial for future
students if our program offered more “specialty” designed course work in archaeology or lab based work.
Potential employers disregarded my applications due to the lack of field and lab experience. I have
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Appendix B
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completed all but 3 courses (2 general education requirements & Internship). The staff at TMCC has gone
above and beyond to make themselves available before, during, and after class to answer questions about
how to get a paying job in anthropology. It would have been very beneficial if some of the lectures in the
lower classes went into greater detail to talk about what kind of jobs anthropology offers. I felt only a
select few professors present these options very well (ANTH 102, ANTH 201, ANTH 205). The standard
response from all but 3 professors when asked about what is out there to become was “depends on what
you want to study”, that’s very obvious!!! Had I known more about what careers are offered for
anthropology majors, I would have selected better suited electives. The communication between TMCC
staff and UNR is consistent enough to be dangerous. Dr. White and her staff are great to work with, but
unannounced to me, if you are enrolled at UNR these meetings are difficult to secure. I would be happy to
make myself available for more follow up questions if needed. I am very proud of what I was able to
accomplish at TMCC!!!! The skills I learned have fortunately crossed over well into my
sales/marketing/cabinet profession. Thank you, Dan DuMond 775-453-8713
I have had a fantastic experience in taking anthropology courses. I had changed my major because I
enjoyed and felt that anthropology is a wonderful discipline that can help people in whatever field they
choose to follow. I had thought to transfer to UNR, but I have yet to finish the required courses, some of
which have not been available.
I'm currently in the process of finishing my credits at TMCC so I can transfer; I haven't officially declared
myself an anthropology major, but that's definitely where I'm heading. I've loved my anthropology
experience at TMCC. The professors and course materials are great in guiding me in the right direction
and allowing me to discern which field I want to get into. Everyone has been very cooperative and
encouraging. I really appreciate the opportunities to bring up questions and discussions in class regarding
whatever we're learning. Overall, my anthropology courses have been my favorite classes by far.
Loved it!
The instructors are very good often better and more into their discipline than other professors. However
there are not enough anthropology courses offered to finish in a timely manner which forces many people
to leave without the AA degree. I am considering doing so myself, that and the limited lab experience for
archeology and physical anthropology are the only things I have issues with.
I had to change my major this semester to complete my AA in General Education, but will go back to
continue my Anthropology studies next fall. So far all the instructors in my Anthropology classes have
been awesome.
Really fun course. Eye opener.
Enjoyed the classes. Over all I thought the courses were well structured.
Julia Hammett's insightful and engaging courses were the reason I became interested in anthropology. I
would bet that many other students also owe their interest in the field to her.
The anthropology professors are great people and very knowledgeable.
I felt that the 100 and 200 level classes in anthropology prepared me well for upper division classes at
UNR. Dr. Kies and Dr. Hammett were a great help and influence with my choice of anthropology. I am
currently attending UNR with five or six fellow students from TMCC anthropology.
Program/Unit Review Self Study | Appendix B
B.6
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APPENDIX C
TMCC Anthropology Program Occasional
Series Paper No. 4:
Assessing the Needs
of Military and Veteran Students
at TMCC,
Spring Semester 2010
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