2006-07 Accomplishments
Psychology
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Assess the effectiveness of the Psych 480 Honors course.
% Complete 100%
We have decided not to offer the PSYC 480 course for the time being. Instead, if we offer Honors
Status:
courses, we will offer classes that are more focused in content.
Goal:Promote Student Success
Action Item:
Obtain assistance from the Research and Instructional Offices to gather data regarding student
retention, persistence, and success, and begin to identify strategies to improve these areas.
% Complete 70%
Status:
Partially completed. We have obtained data from the Psychology survey conducted by the District
Research Office, and we have identified a few strategies for improvement in several areas. For
example, it is clear that our students need more consistent instruction in writing APA-style reports.
We will be obtaining data about student retention when we conduct our Program Review next year.
Goal:Collegial Collaboration
Continue and enhance collaboration with Counseling and other student services on curricular and
Action Item:
student need issues.
% Complete 50%
Status:
Many of our faculty refer students to Bob Garcia for personal counseling and mental health
intervention. Lisa Gunderson has participated on several panels with faculty from Counseling
addressing student behaviors in the classroom.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Revise and update curriculum for courses that are not current.
% Complete 90%
Mostly completed. Most of our courses were updated in preparation for program review.
Status:
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Implement methods to assess degree program effectiveness
% Complete 0%
Although we have developed program learning outcomes, we have not yet developed or
implemented a systematic method of assessing our degree program effectiveness. We have obtained
data from the Psychology survey conducted by the District Research Office that speak to some of
Status:
our outcomes, although this survey was not specifically geared towards assessing program
outcomes.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Continue to identify and integrate multicultural resources and awareness into the curriculum.
% Complete 30%
Status:
Ongoing. Lisa Gunderson, Alan Keys, and Gayle Pitman attended the Beyond Diversity workshop.
Also, in addition to offering the Psychology of Minorities class, we will be offering an experimental
course on the Psychology of Sexual Orientation in Fall 2007. We need to continue discussions
about identifying and integrating multicultural resources into our core degree curriculum.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Explore appropriate options for additional Honors courses.
% Complete 50%
Status:
After several discussions, we have decided not to offer our General Principles - Honors class for the
time being. We have put a new Honors course through the curriculum that focuses more on
contemporary issues in psychology, which appears to be more appropriate for Honors
programming.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Continue to offer multiple sections for courses that are required for degree program
% Complete 100%
Completed. We offer numerous sections of PSYC 300, four sections of PSYC 310, two sections of
Status:
PSYC 320, and two sections of PSYC 335.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Continue to implement Service Learning in appropriate courses
% Complete 50%
Ongoing. Gayle Pitman implements Service Learning in her PSYC 360 class, and is exploring the
Status:
development of additional Service Learning courses.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Faculty
Action Item:
Continue to implement strategies to increase the participation of adjunct faculty in departmental
functions
% Complete 40%
Status:
Alan Keys has worked with Hossein Moftakhar on the PSYC 335 course. Dick Dowdall has
participated in several department meetings to discuss distance learning issues. We still lack a
formal mentoring program with our adjuncts.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Develop specific learning outcomes for Psych 300, Psych 340, and Psych 335.
% Complete 30%
Status:
Ongoing. PSYC 340 has outcomes that need to be updated. Development of outcomes of PSYC 300
and 335 are in progress.
Goal:Promote Student Success
Action Item: Continue and expand scholarship options for students in Psychology and related fields.
% Complete 50%
We continue to offer the Outstanding Psychology Student award, and several of our faculty
Status:
continue to offer scholarships. However, we have not increased our current scholarship options.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Facilities/Equipment
Action Item:
Continue to work with the Dean and other BSS department chairs to develop a plan for efficient
allocation of classrooms, including Smart Classrooms.
% Complete 30%
Status:
Classroom allocation has not been particularly efficient; several faculty who would like to teach in
smart classrooms have not had access to them, and faculty who teach back-to-back classes have not
been guaranteed the same classroom for those sections. Starting in Fall 2007, classrooms will be
allocated using a computer program that will hopefully address some of these issues. However, we
continue to push for more faculty being scheduled in smart classrooms.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Facilities/Equipment
Action Item: Secure ADA-compliant technology for faculty and students with disabilities.
% Complete 0%
Status:
Not completed.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Facilities/Equipment
Secure storage options for equipment and materials such as models, lab equipment, & media
Action Item:
equipment.
% Complete 0%
Not completed. Currently, our supplies are stored in faculty offices: Chris Tromborg's office holds
the TV/VCR/DVD cart and some BioPsych supplies; many lab supplies and biological specimens
are stored in Alan Keys' office, and both Gayle Pitman and Lisa Gunderson have videos/DVDs that
Status:
could be made available to other faculty members. In addition, we still lack a secure facility for
storing the department smart cart.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Facilities/Equipment
Action Item: Assist LRC faculty and staff in maintaining and updating psychology holdings
% Complete 30%
Partially completed. Gayle Pitman and Dick Dowdall have collaborated with Jory Hadsell in
obtaining a new, updated series for the PSYC 340 TeleWEB course. We have not made systematic
Status:
requests for other psychology holdings.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Facilities/Equipment
Action Item: Secure facilities and equipment for the stand-alone Bio-Psych lab course.
% Complete 30%
Partially completed. We offered the class at the Davis Center and were able to obtain a limited
number of microscopes for the course. We have not yet heard whether our budget request for lab
Status:
supplies was approved.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Facilities/Equipment
Action Item:
Secure office space for new faculty member that will facilitate communication and collaboration
with department faculty (RS or RN preferably)
% Complete 100%
Maria Regalado, our newest faculty member, has her office in Rodda North. Most of the
Psychology faculty offices,, with the exception of Tom Bruce's office, are in Rodda South.
Status:
However, the new location of her office has facilitated communication more easily than the location
of her previous office.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Faculty
Action Item:
Facilitate faculty participation in professional development activities, including exploration of
additional funding.
% Complete 100%
Status:
Partially completed. Gayle Pitman and Lisa Gunderson attended the FACCC convention in October
2006, and were funded out of Staff Development funds. Gayle Pitman also attended the Association
for Women in Psychology conference in March 2007, which was also funded through Staff
Development. Alan Keys presented at the "Strengthening Student Success" conference in October
2006, attended the Academic Senate conference on Accreditation in January 2007, and attended a
Basic Skills Research workshop in May.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Faculty
Action Item:
Continue to enhance communication and collaboration with Psych. Departments at CSUS, UCD,
and other transfer institutions.
% Complete 50%
We continue to have a strong relationship with the Psychology department at CSUS. Chris
Tromborg maintains ties with the Psychology department at UCD. At this time, we do not have
Status:
strong collaborative relationships with other transfer institutions.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Faculty
Develop department-specific professional development activities (e.g. brown bag series, outside
Action Item:
speakers)
% Complete 0%
Not completed. Our department has lacked the time and the financial resources to be able to
Status:
accomplish this goal.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item:
Continue to identify courses in which non-traditional scheduling and delivery options may be
appropriate and begin implementation.
% Complete 30%
Status:
Ongoing. We are beginning to offer more night sections of PSYC 300. We are exploring the option
of offering PSYC 320 in the evening as well. We have had numerous discussions about distance
learning and online education and have decided to continue with the two hybrid courses we
currently offer.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Facilities/Equipment
Action Item: Secure consistent funding sources for annual SPSS software license renewal.
% Complete 0%
Status:
Not completed. We made a request to the Budget Committee to fund our SPSS software licenses,
and we have not yet heard whether that request was approved. We are no longer able to fund the
SPSS licenses out of our existing department budget.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Offer the Psych. 311 (Bio. Psych. lab) course
% Complete 100%
Completed. Psych 311 was offered at the Davis center in Spring 2007.
Status:
Goal:Collegial Collaboration
Continue collaboration with other LRCCD colleges and district office in the development of
Action Item:
Program learning outcomes and assessment models
% Complete 40%
Ongoing. We have developed program learning outcomes for the Psychology degree program.
Within our department, discussions regarding assessment are in the preliminary stage. Alan Keys
Status:
continues to serve on the District Research Council and is working on developing course and
program SLO assessment with colleagues from the sister colleges.
Goal:Collegial Collaboration
Explore possible connections with colleagues, both internal and external to SCC to support stand
Action Item:
alone Bio. Psych. Lab
% Complete 50%
Alan Keys and Chris Tromborg have collaborated to develop the PSYC 311 course. Both have
worked with Don Palm to offer the class at the Davis center. There has also been collaboration with
Status:
Dean Murakami at ARC and with Andrea Greenwell and David Wyatt in the Biology department to
develop lab materials and curriculum.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Explore the option of offering degree core courses at the outreach centers.
% Complete 50%
Status:
Ongoing. This year, we offered PSYC 300, 310, and 335 at the Davis Center. We also offered
PSYC 320 at the Downtown Center.
Goal:Collegial Collaboration
Action Item:
Continue to collaborate with Counseling Services on issues such as transfer agreements, IMPAC,
and the development of student mental health programs.
% Complete 30%
Status:
Several Psychology instructors, including Gayle Pitman and Lisa Gunderson, have participated in
the three Mental Health Screening days. Gayle and Lisa have had ongoing discussions with Bob
Garcia, Marian Sheppard, and Richard Erlich regarding the need for improved student mental health
programs. There is a new effort, initiated by Gwyn Tracy in the DRC, to obtain state funding to
establish additional mental health resources for our students, and Gayle and Lisa plan to be part of
that effort.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Explore the possibility of developing a certificate program for paraprofessionals, focusing on the
Action Item:
therapeutic use of the arts.
% Complete 70%
Ongoing. One of the courses that would be a part of this program failed to make enrollment and had
to be cancelled. We decided to hold off on proposing the certificate program until we could boost
Status:
enrollment. In addition, we'd like to obtain and analyze job market data for paraprofessionals in this
area to determine the potential appeal to students.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item:
Offer the Psych 392 (Loss and Grief) course to assist students in completing requirements for the
Gerontology degree
% Complete 100%
Status:
Completed. We offered PSYC 392 in Spring 2007, and we will continue to offer it.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Faculty
Action Item: Hire a new full-time faculty member to replace a retiree.
% Complete 100%
Status:
Completed. We hired Maria Regalado in the fall of 2005, and we just hired another faculty member
in the spring of 2007.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Curriculum
Action Item: Offer the Psych 367 (Psychology of Minorities) course
% Complete 100%
Completed. Psych 367 was offered in Spring 2007.
Status:
Goal:Promote Student Success
Action Item:
Begin systematic use of learning outcome data to provide feedback to faculty and students on
student success.
% Complete 0%
Status:
Not completed. We have not yet developed systematic methods of assessing our student learning
outcomes.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Facilities/Equipment
Action Item: Secure new and larger TV sets for classrooms
% Complete 0%
Status:
Not completed. We have been informed by Media Services that they will not be replacing TV sets;
instead, they will be installing projectors in the rooms as more classrooms are converted into smart
classrooms.
Goal:Promote Student Success
Action Item: Maintain departmental website
% Complete 100%
Status:
Jo-Ann Foley maintains the websites for each department in Behavioral and Social Sciences.
Goal:Market the Department
Action Item: Continue to develop materials to market the Psychology department and degree program.
% Complete 0%
Not completed. We continue to use our existing flyers and Web page that advertises and describes
Status:
our degree program.
Goal:Market the Department
Identify and continue to implement informal ways of marketing the department across campus and
Action Item: at transfer institutions (I.e. mental health screening days, panel discussions, classroom
presentations, outreach activities, etc.).
% Complete 70%
Status:
Our department continues to enjoy healthy enrollments in our courses and a strong interest in our
degree program. All of our faculty participate in outreach activities on campus, such as the mental
health screening days and other panel discussions pertaining to psychology and mental health, and
some give presentations in the community and engage in community outreach.
Goal:Market the Department
Action Item:
Publicize course offerings in a variety of ways, particularly new courses and courses with low
enrollments.
% Complete 70%
Status:
Most of our faculty advertise courses by posting flyers, making announcements in existing classes.
communicating with counselors, and publishing advertisements in the SCC tab that is distributed
through the mail. We need to continue to explore additional ways of advertising courses.
Goal:Market the Department
Action Item: Design innovative displays for new Psychology display case in RS.
% Complete 50%
The Psychology display case has been updated every semester. However, we'd like to design
Status:
displays that are more eye-catching.
Goal:Promote Student Success
Explore options for a Psychology career-prep. "seminar" to include modules on
Action Item:
undergraduate/graduate study, careers in psychology, and APA writing skills.
% Complete 20%
Not completed. While we have had a few discussions about such a seminar, no development efforts
Status:
have taken place yet.
Goal:Promote Student Success
Action Item: Foster student development through the Psychology Club and other related campus organizations.
% Complete 50%
Status:
Ongoing. The Psychology Club continues to be active, with a fluctuating membership. While over
80 students are registered on the Yahoo! group, on average only about 5-7 students attend meetings
on a regular basis. Efforts need to be made to increase participation in meetings and Psychology
Club events.
Goal:Promote Student Success
Action Item:
Continue to provide opportunities for students to learn about transfer options, careers in psychology,
work and internship experiences.
% Complete 50%
Status:
Ongoing. The Psychology Club is a venue for students to learn about and become involved in some
of these opportunities.
Goal:Promote Student Success
Action Item: Continue and increase utilization of tutoring and other learning resource services.
% Complete 30%
Ongoing. Tom Bruce continues to participate in the Beacon tutor program. We need to increase
Status:
utilization of tutoring services, the RISE program, and study skills workshops.
Goal:Market the Department
Host a reception at the beginning of the academic year for students interested in majoring in
Action Item:
Psychology
% Complete 0%
Not completed. We did host a kick-off meeting of the Psychology Club at the beginning of the
Status:
academic year.
Goal:Facilitate and Support Department Development - Facilities/Equipment
Action Item: Establish a consistent protocol for recruiting participants for Psych 335 research projects.
% Complete 50%
Status:
We have continued to recruit participants for PSYC 335 research projects through existing
Psychology courses, offering extra credit to participants.