Central Washington University
Assessment of Student Learning
Department and Program Report
Please enter the appropriate information concerning your student learning assessment
activities for this year.
Academic Year of Report: _2011_____College: ___COTS_________
Department ___Sociology__________ Program: Sociology, Social Services_
1. What student learning outcomes were assessed this year, and why?
Building on the foundation laid in the previous years, the Department of Sociology
assessed writing in our General Education courses, Soc 101 and Soc 107. The General
Education Student learning outcome assessed was “Students will achieve fluency in:
writing.” We also assessed writing in two upper division courses, Soc 350 and Soc 386.
Basic and Breadth: Students are expected to practice and apply essential skills required to
lead enlightened and productive lives. Students will be able to write effectively for a
variety of purposes and situations. These outcomes are related to CWU goals 1 & 2 to
maintain and strengthen an outstanding academic and student life. The goal is also
related to the college goals 1& 2 of providing an outstanding academic and student
experience. This goal was selected for assessment because there is a need to understand
the extent to which students are able to write effectively early in their college careers.
Writing in the Major: Students are expected to show knowledge in substantive areas
within sociology. Outcomes include the ability to summarize existing knowledge, current
questions, and important issues in at least one substantive area within sociology and to
suggest specific policy implications of research and theory in one area and express their
knowledge in written form. This goal is related to CWU goals 1 & 2 to maintain and
strengthen an outstanding academic and student life. The goal is also related to the
college goals 1& 2 of providing an outstanding academic and student experience. It
relates to the department goal of offering a sociology program that emphasizes critical
thinking and problem solving skills. This goal was selected for assessment because the
department wanted to know student’s level of competence in the substantive areas within
sociology and their ability to apply theory in analyzing social problems. In addition, we
need to know whether communicating in written form is being met by our graduates.
This can be complicated because many of our students are transfer students so may have
not completed their basic and breadth at CWU.
2. How were they assessed?
1. Writing Assessment in basic and breadth courses were evaluated through the course
work in SOC 107 and SOC 101 in Fall, Winter and Spring quarters 2010-2011. The
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writing rubric was used to assess the extent to which students were able to demonstrate
their writing ability. Each element was assessed and reported as pass/no pass.
2. Writing Assessment in the Major was evaluated thorough the coursework in SOC 350
and SOC 389 in Winter 2011 and Spring 2012. The writing rubric was used to assess the
extent to which students were able to demonstrate their writing ability. Each element was
assessed and reported as pass/no pass.
3. What was learned?
1. The findings were not unexpected. The sociology department does not expect all
students to have an understanding of the Rhetoric of Sociology or to be able to
make an effective argument without that rhetoric. It is clear that student’s, for the
most part, are able to follow paper directions and some are very good at
organization. Some of these students have not taken ENG 101, which may impact
the findings.
Rubric Element
Content
Reasoning
Organization
Rhetoric of the Discipline
Conventions &
Presentation
Pass
24/80%
15/50%
23/76%
15/50%
23/76%
Non-Pass
6/20%
15/50%
7/23%
15/50%
7/23%
2. The findings were not unexpected. By the time students are taking Sociological
Theory and Seminar on Racism, they have had substantive courses, which have
included several writing assignments and essay exams. In addition, the far
majority of them have completed their basic and breadth, where they have had the
opportunity to practice their writing skills.
Rubric Element
Content
Reasoning
Organization
Rhetoric of the Discipline
Conventions &
Presentation
Pass
25/92%
24/88%
24/88%
26/96%
23/85%
Non-Pass
2/8%
3/12%
3/12%
1/ 4%
4/15%
4. What will the department or program do as a result of that information?
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The department will continue to have students participate in writing in the SOC 101 and Soc 107
courses. The more the student’s write the more proficient they will become. The department
advisors will encourage students to take ENG 101, prior to taking any writing courses.
5. What did the department or program do in response to the feedback from last year's
assessment report?
The faculty are developing a student exit interview, to be given in the capstone course,
for use in the evaluation process. We have used alumni surveys but these surveys have
an unacceptable response rate and tend to be very general and difficult to use in assessing
the program.
The curriculum committee has been working on rubrics to make the assessment process
easier to tie specifically to our program goals to identify the subcategories in which
students did not do as well as they did overall. There are many ways to assess the extent
to which students meet specific goals and outcomes, and each course uses different
mechanisms in the assessment process. The department curriculum committee is
developing standard assessment tools for those courses that have multiple sections.
Student GPA is linked to our program goals, it is assumed that if students have a GPA
that meets or exceeds our standards then that is an indicator that they have met our
program goals. Particularly when used with other assessment tools. The GPA alone may
not be an effective assessment tool, but as part of a holistic assessment process, it
provides some information.
The discussion in faculty meetings, particularly our fall retreat, focused on pedagogy and
curricular decisions, many of which are based on the yearly assessment report and on the
five year program review. Our program is curricular driven, we use the ASA “Creating
an Effective Assessment Plan for the Sociology Major” and “Sociology for the 21st
Century” to assess and develop the undergraduate sociology and social services major.
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