SJSU Annual Program Assessment Form
Academic Year 2014-2015
Department: HUMANITIES
Program: HUMANITIES BA
College: H&A
Website: <SJSU.EDU/HUM>
Program Accreditation (if any): NONE
Contact Person and Email: Chris Jochim (christian.jochim@sjsu.edu)
Date of Report: June 1, 2015
Part A
List of Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
1. Demonstrate the ability to frame questions and pursue answers to aesthetic, social, cultural and
global problems using interdisciplinary methods
2. Demonstrate the ability to describe and compare the roles, impacts and ethical implications of ideas,
texts, social movements, contemporary situations, and creations of the human imagination.
3. Demonstrate skill in written and verbal communication, including argumentation.
4. Demonstrate the ability to identify, select, use, and cite information sources appropriately.
Additional SLO: American, Asian, European, and Middle East Studies Concentrations:
1. Explain how current events and contemporary issues are understood with knowledge of the
historical and cultural background of a particular world area (e.g., America, East Asia, Europe, or the
Middle East), including processes of cultural formation, historical development, and social change.
Additional SLOs: Religious Studies Concentration
1. Demonstrate a high level of religious literacy, including the ability to articulate etic and emic
perspectives for specific religions, and a functional understanding of at least five major world
religious systems (e.g. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism,
Sikhism, Jainism, a specific geographic set of indigenous religions [African, Australian, North
American, South American, Pacific Islander, North Asian, pre-Christian European], Wicca, AfroCaribbean religions)
2. Function adroitly within the interdisciplinary nature of comparative religious studies. Describe how
religion, as a phenomena, can be analyzed historically, philosophically, psychologically,
sociologically, geographically, and artistically, as well as theologically. Demonstrate ability to write
and speak about religions in a scholarly, civil, and respectful manner, using the academic discourses
that have evolved for this purpose. Foster civil discourse about religion by encountering and
engaging community members, faculty, and students who hold diverse views within and about
religious traditions.
Faculty decided on PLO content and criteria for assessing levels of mastery during the 2011-12 Program
Planning process. Humanities BA advisors monitor ongoing assessment of levels of mastery.
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x
x
x
x
x
x
Social and Global Responsibilities
Applied Knowledge
Intellectual Skills
Broad Integrative knowledge
PLO/ULG
1. Ability to frame questions/pursue answers
2. Ability to describe and compare
3. Skill in written and verbal communication
4. Ability to identify . . . and cite information
A1. Explain current . . . w hist. knowledge
B1. Demonstrate religious literacy
B2. Function in interdisciplinary RelS context
Specialized knowledge
2. Map of PLOs to University Learning Goals (ULGs)
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
3. Alignment – Matrix of PLOs to Courses
See Humanities Program Assessment Schedule listed below..
4. Planning – Assessment Schedule
SLOs
1. Demonstrate the ability to frame questions and
pursue answers to aesthetic, social, cultural and global
problems using interdisciplinary methods.
2. Demonstrate the ability to describe and compare
the roles, impacts and ethical implications of ideas,
texts, social movements, contemporary situations, and
creations of the human imagination.
3. Demonstrate skill in written and verbal
communication, including argumentation.
Program Planning Cycle
Assessment Schedule
2012-2013 (HUM 101)
2013-2014 (HUM 160)
2014-2015 (HUM 100W)
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4. Demonstrate the ability to identify, select, use, and
cite information sources appropriately.
2015-2016 (HUM 190)
Additional SLO: American, Asian, European, and
Middle East Studies Concentrations:
2013-2014 and 2016-2017
(AMS 169, HUM 114, HUM
128, RELS 145)
A1. Explain how current events and contemporary
issues are understood with knowledge of the historical
and cultural background of a particular world area
(e.g., America, East Asia, Europe, or the Middle East),
including processes of cultural formation, historical
development, and social change.
Additional SLOs: Religious Studies Concentration:
B1. Demonstrate a high level of religious literacy,
including the ability to articulate etic and emic
perspectives for specific religions, and a functional
understanding of at least five major world religious
systems (e.g. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism,
Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Sikhism, Jainism, a
specific geographic set of indigenous religions [African,
Australian, North American, South American, Pacific
Islander, North Asian, pre-Christian European], Wicca,
Afro-Caribbean religions).
B2. Function adroitly within the interdisciplinary
nature of comparative religious studies. Describe how
religion, as a phenomenon, can be analyzed
historically, philosophically, psychologically,
sociologically, geographically, and artistically, as well
as theologically. Demonstrate ability to write and
speak about religions in a scholarly, civil, and
respectful manner, using the academic discourses that
have evolved for this purpose. Foster civil discourse
about religion by encountering and engaging
community members, faculty, and students who hold
diverse views within and about religious traditions.
2013-2014 (RELS 142, 145,or
155)
2015-2016 (RELS 124,130, or
131)
5. Student Experience
We are at an early stage in changing the way PLOs and the ULGs are communicated to students as
well as in the way student feedback is considered in the creation of the PLOs. This information on
the department website, but that is a mere starting point. What instructors do in their courses is
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more important. Instructors of all four core courses in the major (Hum 85, 101, 160, and 190) are
encouraged to review PLOs and ULGs with their students. Indeed, the earlier of the core courses,
Hum 85 and Hum 101, are where instructors will introduce and discuss the ULGs as well as the PLOs
for the Humanities BA.
Part B
6. Graduation Rates for Total Non URM and URM students (entire department
First-Time
Freshmen
Undergraduat
e Transfer
First-Time
Graduate
Fall 2008 Cohort: 6-Year
Graduation Rate
Fall 2011 Cohort: 3-Year
Graduation Rate
Fall 2011 Cohort: 3-Year
Graduation Rate
Program
Cohort Size
Program
Cohort Size
Total
Program
Cohort Size
2
Program
Grad Rate
0.0%
8
Program
Grad Rate
62.5%
URM
1
0.0%
3
Non-URM
1
0.0%
All others
0
/0
Program
Grad Rate
0
/0
33.3%
0
/0
4
75.0%
0
/0
1
100.0%
0
/0
7. Headcounts of program majors and new students (per program and degree)
Fall 2014
New Students
FT Admit
Total
Continuing Students
New Transfer
Continuing
Return.Tranfer
Trnst-Ugrd
Total
5
12
61
1
4
83
BA
5
12
61
1
4
83
8. SFR and average section size (per department)
Fall 2014
Course Level
Course Prefix
HUM-Humanities
Lower Division
Subject SFR
27.0
Subject Headcount per Section
29.8
Upper Division
19.3
22.6
4
Graduate Division
9. Percentage of tenure/tenure-track instructional faculty (per department)
Fall 2014
Department FTEF #
7.5
Department FTEF %
38%
Not tenure-track
12.2
62%
Total
19.8
100%
Tenured/Tenure-track
Part C
6. Closing the Loop/Recommended Actions
In our last Program Review, one action item encouraged us to explore better outreach and
liaison deeper relationships with community colleges to increase transfers into all our
department majors. We have brought in a new tenure track hire to begin next semester
(Fall 2015) that, while teaching in the American Studies concentration of Humanities, with
a doctorate and a specialty in the history of education will be able to collaborate on this
goal through service specific to the Liberal Studies Teaching Prep major, growing an annual
cohort of future teachers majoring in our department.
7. Assessment Data
The targeted PLO for this year was Number 3: “Demonstrate skill in written and verbal
communication, including argumentation.” Data to analyze this was collected from two
sections of HUM 100W, Writing in the Humanities.
Sample essays were submitted from the two different instructors teaching HUM 100W,
three from one section and five from the other. The samples were assessed by Prof.
Jochim for their basic skill levels in written communication and persuasive argumentation.
All were judged to be at the level assigned by the seminar instructors, which selected the
students to illustrate the range of rankings in their courses. Prof. X ranked one student at
strong thesis (Exemplary), one at sound thesis (Accomplished), two at clear thesis
(Developing) and one at vague thesis (Beginning). Prof. Y ranked the three essays
numerically, one at 169 (Accomplished), one at 146 (Developing) and one at 137
(Beginning).
8. Analysis
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The assigned work in 100W seems to be covering the required areas to meet this PLO, and
the teachers’ feedback to the students indicates attention to helping them move forward
toward even better responses in written communication and persuasive argumentation.
9. Proposed changes and goals (if any)
In the past, an argumentation exercise was added to HUM 190 senior seminar capstone
classes to ensure that the argumentation skill covered in HUM 100W was reinforced in that
capstone experience, and a closing the loop assessment activity on that modification
demonstrated that graduating seniors demonstrated a higher proficiency in this particular
skill as a result. As perhaps five years have gone by since that check, it might be useful the
next time around in assessing this PLO that we look not only at the level of what is
produced in HUM 100W students but also, for that particular skill of argumentation, at a
class of students in HUM 190 as well.
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