Page 1 of 2
Program Student Learning Outcomes
USE OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS
Fall Semester 2015
PROGRAM TITLE: University Parallel
COURSE: POLS 1030 American Government
This course is a study of the basic features of American Government with emphasis on constitutional
principles and the structure and functions of the three branches of national government.
Expected Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the three branches of American national government
including the Supreme Court and judicial review.
2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the three branches of American national government
including the Bill of Rights.
3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the three branches of American national government
including the Presidential elections.
4. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the three branches of American national government
including the powers of the Congress.
5. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the three branches of American national government
including the powers of the President.
Performance Measure(s): Embedded Assessment
Effectiveness Standard: At least 70% of the students will answer the questions that pertain to the
student learning outcome correctly.
Assessment Results:
Student Learning Outcome
1
2
3
4
5
Question
1
2
3
4
5
Percentage Correct
86.3
73.8
763.
90.5
86.0
Effectiveness
Standard Met?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Page 2 of 2
Use of Assessment Results:
After reviewing the current results, all 5 items met the effectiveness standard of 70%. The
action plan from the previous cycle in 2014 satisfied effectiveness standards for all items and
SLOs as well. The previous plan was effective, but used 10 questions. The Fall 2015 assessment
used only 5 questions. Apparently, older assessment questions were used for the most recent
cycle. How this happened remains a mystery, but the department is very satisfied knowing that
both sets of questions have produced a continuous cycle of improvement. Recent discussion
has revealed that embedded assessment format yields strong results; however, the format
itself is not user friendly and requires manual data collection/calculations. It was suggested
that more questions be developed, possibly as many as 20, and that all of these questions be
administered in D2L for a quiz grade at the end of the semester. Performance and participation
would remain strong because the incentive would be to earn a good grade. This would also
eliminate any manual data collection/calculations that are required by the current process
because D2L would do all the work.
Action Plan
Person(s) Responsible
Deadline
From Spring 2014 Assessment of POLS 1030
During the Fall 2011 semester, new embedded questions were developed so that each SLO is assessed
by a total of 2 questions. In the past, only one question was used to assess each SLO. All involved
instructors felt that this makes the results more valid and reliable. Only two sections of this course were
randomly selected for general education core assessment purposes during the Spring 2014 semester.
The benchmark of 70% correct was exceeded for every expected student learning outcome. Regular and
adjunct faculty teaching POLS 1030 were provided with these results and discussion was encouraged.
The faculty teaching this course are satisfied with the current SLOs because they demonstrate the
essence of the course. It was their opinion that changing the SLOs or the assessment methodology is
not necessary. Assessment results for this course have been consistently strong for many years.
Comparisons to past assessments of this course will continue to be monitored. With regard to SLO 3
(73% correct), the instructors plan to dedicate additional class time to that SLO next year. It also has
been suggested by the department chair and full/part-time faculty that an electronic format of data
entry be used for the next cycle of embedded assessments. The current method requires the chair to
rely on manual data compilation and calculations, which is more prone to produce errors.