SJSU Annual Program Assessment Form
Academic Year 2013-2014
Department: Child & Adolescent Development
Program:
Child & Adolescent Development
College: Education
Website: http://www.sjsu.edu/chad/
_ Check here if your website addresses the University Learning Goals.
Program Accreditation (if any): NA
Contact Person and Email:
Toni Campbell -- toni.campbell@sjsu.edu
Date of Report:
5/15/14
Part A
1. List of Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
ChAD refers to the PLOs as student learning objectives (SLOs). These SLOs are the same for both the BA and the MA programs. They are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Demonstrate basic knowledge of child and adolescent development in four major domains (cognitive, emotional, social, and physical)
and understand the interrelationships among these domains;
Understand the role of context in the growth and development of children and adolescents and their socialization by family, community,
society, and culture;
Apply research, theory, and problem-solving skills to questions about social policy, education, intervention, and practical situations
pertaining to children and adolescents;
Examine and evaluate information about children and adolescents from a variety of sources;
Demonstrate inquisitiveness about the development of children and adolescents by articulating reasoned questions and methods for
seeking answers to those questions;
Demonstrate communication and interpersonal skills for facilitating the development of children and adolescents and meeting the
challenges of working with other professionals; and
Understand ethical and advocacy responsibilities in working with and on behalf of children and adolescents.
2.Map of PLOs to University Learning Goals (ULGs)
ChAD SLOs
University
PLOs
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
PLO 1
PLO 2
PLO 3
PLO 4
PLO 5
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
3. Alignment – Matrix of PLOs to Courses
ChAD
Courses
159/160
162/164
163/173
169
170
195
100W
101
149
150
151
161
168
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
4. Planning – Assessment Schedule
ChAD
SLOs
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
101
159/160
162/164
163/173
169
195
Exit survey
Sp even
Each sem.
Each sem.
Each sem.
Each sem.
Each sem.
Each sem.
Each sem.
Sp odd
F even
Sp even
F odd
Sp odd
F even
5. Student Experience
All syllbi, ChAD department website, Undergraduate Studies web pages
Part B
6. Graduation Rates for Total, Non URM and URM students (per program and degree)
Academic Programs
Child/Adolescent Dev
First-time Freshmen: 6
Year Graduation Rates
New UG Transfers: 3 Year
Graduation Rates
Grads : 3 Year
Graduation Rates
Fall 2007 Cohort
Fall 2010 Cohort
Fall 2010 Cohort
Entering
% Grad
Entering
% Grad
Entering
% Grad
Total
37
43.2%
87
71.3%
8
75.0%
URM
12
41.7%
18
77.8%
1
0.0%
Non-URM
23
47.8%
53
67.9%
5
80.0%
Other
2
0.0%
16
75.0%
2
100.0%
7. Headcounts of program majors and new students (per program and degree)
Fall 2013
New Students
Child and Adolescent
Development
Cont. Students
Total
1st Fr.
UG Transf
New Creds
1st Grads
UGs
Creds
Grads
UGs
Creds
Grads
Total
39
115
0
7
454
0
10
608
0
17
BA
39
115
0
0
454
0
0
608
0
0
MA
0
0
0
7
0
0
10
0
0
17
Degree
8. SFR and average section size (per program)
Fall 2013
Student to
Faculty
Ratio
(SFR)
25.8
Average
Headcount
per Section
Lower Division
35.9
61.7
Upper Division
24.0
29.8
Graduate
Division
10.6
11.0
Course Prefix
Course
Level
CHAD - Child/Adolescent
Dev
Total
33.7
9. Percentage of tenured/tenure-track instructional faculty (per department)
Fall 2013
Child & Adolescent
Development
%
Tenured/Prob
34.2%
Temp
Lecturer
12.982
Probationary
2.801
Part C
10. Closing the Loop/Recommended Actions
We have just completed our program review external reviewer visit. We expect that the reviewer’s recommendations will map onto those made
by the department:
Our highest priority for the immediate future is hiring additional faculty and an additional permanent clerical person to support our department
administrative assistant. Our dean is well aware of the importance of both of these priorities. The resources to move on this agenda are almost
entirely dependent on the university administration.
As a consequence of preparing our program review document, it has become clear that we need to have a formal schedule and a specific work
plan for conducting further assessments of our SLOs. As shown in 3.d above, we have created that structure and believe that we will have little
difficulty in adhering to the schedule.
For some time, we have been discussing possible approaches to assessing our SLOs multiple times across different courses (currently each SLO is
formally assessed once in the curriculum). We recognize that aspects of all seven SLOs are part of the student experience in each of our
required courses, and we know that review of more data points provides a stronger foundation for making changes to the curriculum. While we
will continue to try to find ways to expand the complexity of our assessment, we know we will be limited in what is possible to achieve in making
large changes due to the many competing demands made on faculty time. Currently, in addition to teaching, research, and service,
tenure/tenure-track faculty coordinate two-five courses some of which have as many as nine sections.
Except for the substantial effort involved in rolling out our new pathway in the major (see 2a.2 above) beginning in fall 2014, a process that will
take several years to fully implement, we do not anticipate making any additional significant curricular changes over the next five years. We
will, as has been our practice for more than a decade, regularly make adjustments to courses based on our review of our assessment data and
based on the intensive faculty reviews that we conduct approximately every four years in all of our courses.
11. Assessment Data
Approximately every four years, the ChAD faculty methodically reviews the entire ChAD curriculum. The faculty, as a group, discusses each
syllabus in detail, and as necessary, makes changes to content, to signature assignments, etc. This process takes about three semesters. In
preparation for this review, the faculty examines the ChAD SLOs and considers whether they continue to reflect our goals for students, and make
revisions where necessary. In AY 2010/11, we revised our SLOs. The list above is substantively the same as those we used at the time of the
previous program review except that we have reorganized the content, ending up with seven, not eight SLOs. Along with this work, new or
revised signature assessments were created and there were changes in which courses we use to assess several of the SLOs. This work is clearly
documented in the department minutes archived and stored in SH 201.
In terms of the WASC PLO rubric, the faculty regards our work with our own SLOs as effective. We are confident that we capture sufficient
meaningful information to understand whether and how students achieve the ChAD learning goals. Likewise, we believe that we are
successful in identifying gaps in student learning and in implementing changes that narrow or eliminate those gaps. In our assessment of
our SLOs using the WASC PLO rubric, we conclude:
Comprehensive list: Highly developed
Assessable outcomes: Highly developed
Alignment: Developed
Assessment planning: Highly developed
The student experience: Developed
12. Analysis
In the department minutes there are numerous entries documenting how the faculty actively use the SLO and exit survey findings to identify
areas for program improvement and then implement those changes. One very clear example of that process concerns the quality of student
writing. Because every one of our upper division degree requirements includes significant writing assignments, the assessment of writing is an
issue that spans our entire curriculum. Thus, a key element of one of our SLOs is that students will develop the ability to communicate clearly in
writing. In the review of a combination of our SLO data, faculty observations, and to some extent data from the exit survey, we identified a
critical gap in student achievement. We found that students were having difficulty in writing junior and senior level term papers, including at the
point of enrollment in the senior seminar. In addition we found that many students were waiting until their last semester before graduation to
take the junior level writing course, ChAD 100W. In response to the review of multiple sources of data, the department made several changes:
1) In all advisement sessions and at the department transfer orientation sessions, attendance at which is a requirement for
matriculation at SJSU, we put a great deal of emphasis on the importance of passing the writing skills test (WST) and then taking the junior level
writing course, ChAD 100W, as early in their careers at SJSU as possible.
2) We made some content revisions to ChAD 100W, such as an increased emphasis on key elements of the APA formatting and writing
style guide.
3) We added a pre-requisite to the senior seminar. All students are now required to have completed ChAD 100W before they can enroll
in the senior seminar, a policy for which we make no exceptions.
As a result of implementing these changes, the senior seminar instructors have seen significant improvements in the content and quality
of students’ writing. Informally, instructors in other upper division courses have reported improvements in student writing as well.
The ChAD faculty have made many other improvements to our curriculum over the period since our most recent review. These curricular
changes have all resulted from reviews almost identical to the process we followed in improving students’ ability to write. In brief, some are:
 all sections of all courses now have an online component (e.g., Canvas on-line learning management system) to facilitate out-of-class
communication, access to instructor notes and materials to augment lecture/discussions, and to reduce paper usage;
 adjustments were made to the curriculum in ChAD 168 to enhance the career-related information previously offered;
 an infancy/toddler course was added as a result of faculty discussions that knowledge in this area was not sufficient for certain career
paths for our students;
 in ChAD 169, we have added an assignment involving a library information literacy component in collaboration with our library liaison;
 expansion of our service learning courses to include ChAD 150 and ChAD 151;
 classroom use of COE Apple iPad carts by several instructors (e.g., Fusaro, Jabagchourian, Love, Mathur);
 based on review of student data, we developed a third path through the major (see 2.a.2 above);
 successful application for an intramural student success grant to enhance high impact practices throughout the ChAD curriculum,
particularly in the new course offerings;
 increase in the courses requiring free and/or online readings rather than purchased text or materials (ChAD 106, most sections of ChAD
195)
13. Proposed changes and goals (if any)
We are currently in the process of launching our third pathway to degree completion. This option will begin in fall 2014.