2013-2014 Annual Program Assessment Report
Please submit report to your department chair or program coordinator, the Associate Dean of your College and the assessment
office by Monday, September 30, 2014. You may submit a separate report for each program which conducted assessment activities.
College: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Department: N/A
Program: Master of Public Policy (MPP). The MPP program is a college level interdisciplinary program administered through the Tseng
College.
Assessment liaison: Henrik Minassians (Chair), TBD (committee)
1. Overview of Annual Assessment Project(s). Provide a brief overview of this year’s assessment plan and process.
In 2013, the academic oversight of the MPP program was shifted from the Tseng College to the College of Social and Behavioral
Sciences. As a result of this transition, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences has initiated a process by which regular
assessment and program review will be conducted. Currently, this program has no assessment plan or data. The college Dean
has appointed a program review and assessment liaison who will work with the academic director of self-support programs, and
faculty to design a comprehensive 5 year assessment plan along with annual assessment reports.
2. Assessment Buy-In. Describe how your chair and faculty were involved in assessment related activities. Did department
meetings include discussion of student learning assessment in a manner that included the department faculty as a whole?
Currently, this program has no assessment plan or data. The college Dean has appointed a program review and assessment
liaison who will work with the academic director of self-support programs, and faculty to design a comprehensive 5 year
assessment plan along with annual assessment reports.
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3. Student Learning Outcome Assessment Project. Answer items a-f for each SLO assessed this year. If you assessed an additional
SLO, copy and paste items a-f below, BEFORE you answer them here, to provide additional reporting space.
Student Learning Objectives – SLO
The educational goals of the MPP program will focus on the skills, abilities, and habits of mind required of a public sector
professional in the global community. A graduate of the MPP program should:
1. Demonstrate a sound understanding of various factors affecting urban projects and an ability to apply systemic thinking to
solve current urban policy problems through collective decision-making mechanisms and partnerships.
Rubric:
A. Demonstrate the ability to identify specific urban setting problems.
B. Demonstrate the ability to link and interconnect these problems across different units and parallel issues.
C. Demonstrate the ability to develop specific solutions to these problems through cooperative and collaborative
strategies that span various organizational units and policy domains.
2. Develop a foundation of financial management skills required to critically analyze, develop, implement, and openly and
ethically manage budgets and resources in the public sector.
Rubric:
A. Apply concepts, theories and models of financial management to understand and explain budget documents as social
and urban policy tools.
B. Analyze different components of a budgetary document and, using policy decisions based in sound ethical practice,
develop and present a viable alternative financial document.
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C. Working with diverse individuals, teams and organizational units in an urban setting, develop a budget document
incorporating the concerns and priorities of other stakeholders.
3. Develop a better understanding of the vital role strategic management and system analysis play in modern public sector
entities.
Rubric:
A. Define accurate and detailed policy studies observations about a series of urban problems and develop effective and
achievable solutions.
4.
Develop and demonstrate a better understanding of effective management of urban government settings.
Rubric:
A. Using various models and theories of organizational and cross-organizational leadership, define and create a system
of effective management for urban public sector organizations.
B. Apply organizational management principles and models to develop a plan for managing small, mid-size, and large
urban settings.
5. Develop a better understanding of and the ability to explain conceptually and define sustainability operationally in a
comparative urban setting.
Rubric:
A. Demonstrate the ability to identify sustainability issues in an urban setting.
B. Using various models and theories, to prescribe effective remedies to specific urban sustainability problems.
6. Develop the ability to identify and utilize the role of the global, national, regional and local government to promote
sustainability in an urban context.
Rubric:
A. Demonstrate the ability to conceptualize and specifically identify a substantively important urban policy problem.
B. Describe and demonstrate cross-collaborative strategies for solving regional and/or international problems.
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7. Develop an understanding of the basic concepts and analytical tools of economics.
Rubric:
A. Demonstrate the ability to conceptualize and utilize tools of economics to prescribe policy solutions for an urban
setting.
8. Identify and demonstrate productive use of economic and analytical tools in examining urban public policy problems.
Rubric:
A. Identify specific policy alternatives and solutions through the use of economic and analytical tools.
B. Describe and present an appropriate and viable policy recommendation with justifications and comparison to
alternatives.
9. Develop and demonstrate a better understanding of comparative public policy theories and models, explaining how various
geographic entities approach specific policy domains.
Rubric:
A. Through reliance on various social, policy and organizational variables, analyze and discuss emerging policy issues and
their effects both regionally and globally.
B. Linking these variables, present a specific collaborative approach to solve social, political, policy and organizational
problems regionally and globally.
3a. Which Student Learning Outcome was measured this year?
Currently, this program has no assessment plan or data. The college Dean has appointed a program review and assessment
liaison who will work with the academic director of self-support programs, and faculty to design a comprehensive 5 year
assessment plan along with annual assessment reports.
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3b. Does this learning outcome align with one or more of the university’s Big 5 Competencies? (Delete any which do not apply)

Critical Thinking – Demonstrate a sound understanding of various factors affecting urban projects and an ability to
apply systemic thinking to solve current urban policy problems through collective decision-making mechanisms and
partnerships.

Quantitative Literacy – Identify and demonstrate productive use of economic and analytical tools in examining urban
public policy problems.

Information Literacy – Develop an understanding of the basic concepts and analytical tools of economics.
3c. Does this learning outcome align with University’s commitment to supporting diversity through the cultivation and exchange
of a wide variety of ideas and points of view? In what ways did the assessed SLO incorporate diverse perspectives related to race,
ethnic/cultural identity/cultural orientations, religion, sexual orientation, gender/gender identity, disability, socio-economic
status, veteran status, national origin, age, language, and employment rank?
Currently, this program has no assessment plan or data. The program has assigned a new assessment liaison who will work with
the academic director in order to design a comprehensive 5 year assessment plan along with annual assessment reports.
3d. What direct and/or indirect instrument(s) were used to measure this SLO?
Currently, this program has no assessment plan or data. The program has assigned a new assessment liaison who will work with
the academic director in order to design a comprehensive 5 year assessment plan along with annual assessment reports.
3e. Describe the assessment design methodology: For example, was this SLO assessed longitudinally (same students at different
points) or was a cross-sectional comparison used (Comparing freshmen with seniors)? If so, describe the assessment points used.
Currently, this program has no assessment plan or data. The program has assigned a new assessment liaison who will work with
the academic director in order to design a comprehensive 5 year assessment plan along with annual assessment reports.
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3f. Assessment Results & Analysis of this SLO: Provide a summary of how the results were analyzed and highlight findings from the
collected evidence.
Currently, this program has no assessment plan or data. The program has assigned a new assessment liaison who will work with
the academic director in order to design a comprehensive 5 year assessment plan along with annual assessment reports.
3g. Use of Assessment Results of this SLO: Describe how assessment results were used to improve student learning. Were
assessment results from previous years or from this year used to make program changes in this reporting year? (Possible changes
include: changes to course content/topics covered, changes to course sequence, additions/deletions of courses in program, changes
in pedagogy, changes to student advisement, changes to student support services, revisions to program SLOs, new or revised
assessment instruments, other academic programmatic changes, and changes to the assessment plan.)
Currently, this program has no assessment plan or data. The program has assigned a new assessment liaison who will work with
the academic director in order to design a comprehensive 5 year assessment plan along with annual assessment reports.
4. Assessment of Previous Changes: Present documentation that demonstrates how the previous changes in the program resulted
in improved student learning.
N/A
5. Changes to SLOs? Please attach an updated course alignment matrix if any changes were made. (Refer to the Curriculum
Alignment Matrix Template, http://www.csun.edu/assessment/forms_guides.html.)
N/A
6. Assessment Plan: Evaluate the effectiveness of your 5 year assessment plan. How well did it inform and guide your assessment
work this academic year? What process is used to develop/update the 5 year assessment plan? Please attach an updated 5 year
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assessment plan for 2013-2018. (Refer to Five Year Planning Template, plan B or C,
http://www.csun.edu/assessment/forms_guides.html.)
Currently, this program has no assessment plan or data. The program has assigned a new assessment liaison who will work with
the academic director in order to design a comprehensive 5 year assessment plan along with annual assessment reports.
1. Has someone in your program completed, submitted or published a manuscript which uses or describes assessment
activities in your program? Please provide citation or discuss
Not at this point.
2. Other information, assessment or reflective activities or processes not captured above.
N/A
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