PROGRAM INFORMATION Program Assessment Report
Program Assessment Report
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Date submitted: _________________
Degree Program(s): MS Department: Computer Science
Department Chair: Jon Pearce
Report Prepared by: Soon Tee Teoh
Next Self-Study due :
Phone: 4-5060
Phone: 4-7227
E-mail: SoonTee.Teoh@sjsu.edu
Note: Schedule is posted at: http://www.sjsu.edu/ugs/programplanning/
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Location: Person to Contact:
(Bldg/Room #) (Name)
Assessment schedule is posted at http://www.sjsu.edu/ugs/assessment
Please send any changes to the schedule or to student learning outcomes to Jackie Snell jacqueline.snell@sjsu.edu
(Phone)
MSCS.OC3: Technical communication skills
Initial Evidence of Student Learning:
On a survey sheet, every Thesis Committee member is asked “I feel that this student, who is completing their MS program in Computer Science, has demonstrated through their thesis work, good Technical Communication Skills.” (10 Strongly Agree, 1 Strongly Disagree)”
On this question, all students received scores of 7 to 10 for their Written communication skill, except for one student, who received a score of 1 from one professor. The professor also wrote,
“Student’s English on early drafts was very poor. Many iterations were required on his written report.”
Change(s) to Curriculum or Pedagogy:
It is not clear in what way the written communication skill of the student was not satisfactory.
We have therefore developed a rubrics-based assessment to better identify and analyze the strengths and shortcomings of the students. These rubrics will also be made public so that the students can better prepare themselves in written communication. The rubrics we have developed for Written Communication are:
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Program Assessment Report
Below Expectation Satisfactory
Organization (5) No apparent Some intelligible organization.
Focus and thesis not well-defined.
(0-1) ideas. Basic thesis defined but not clearly explained.
Readers have difficulty following the argument from introduction to conclusion. (2-3)
Style and
Mechanics (5)
Multiple and serious errors of sentence structure.
Frequent errors in spelling and punctuation. (0-1)
Little or no errors in sentence structure, grammar and spelling. However, some awkward expressions and little variety in sentences.
(2-3)
Total Score (out of 10)
Excellent
Thesis and focus clearly defined.
Readers understand goal and contributions of the work. Ideas clearly presented and transitions are smooth. Readers easily follow ideas from introduction to conclusion. (4-5)
Effective and varied sentences, with very few errors.
Words carefully chosen and sentences carefully construction to be effective, powerful and rich. (4-5)
Score
Evidence of Student Learning after Change:
We will implement the rubrics-based assessment this semester. Therefore, we don’t yet have evidence of student learning after making the change.
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